Solo Homer

Regular readers know that I often go to the ballpark in Washington and suffer through a loss by the Washington Nationals.

As I typed that line last night the Nats were leading 8-2 in the top of the ninth when, with the bases loaded and one out, the Nats' pitcher served up a fat fastball to the Phillies' Matt Stairs who promptly smacked a grand slam. 8-6.

President Obama waited on a fat fastball Wednesday night in his speech to a joint session of Congress and, as expected, launched one into the right field stands.

SIDEBAR

The President is left handed, as am I, and many other very special people. It is a paradox that left-handed batters tend to pull the ball into right field. Right-handed batters pull the ball into left field.

How can that be?

END SIDEBAR

The speech needed to be, we were told, a "game changer." It was not. It was a pretty good speech. Too long, I thought, and too late, but the man can deliver a speech.

It was a speech which he should have given before the August recess, but was not. It was a speech which should have answered a lot of questions, but it did not.

Even the Washington Post, not known as a mouthpiece for Congressional Republicans, questioned some of Obama's assertions:

"The expanded coverage would add more than $1 trillion to the deficit. In that case, the cure would be worse than the disease."

The biggest news of the night was the outburst by Rep. Joe Wilson who shouted, "You lie" when, according to the NY Times, "Mr. Obama said that his health care overhaul would not extend benefits to illegal immigrants."

Turns out there is nothing in any of the four or five or 27 versions of this legislation which specifically requires proof of citizenship - or even legal immigrant status - so Wilson was right, if rude.

I said in one interview, if a student had shouted "You lie" at the TV set in his classroom when Obama spoke to the nations school children on Tuesday he would have been sent to the principal's office.

There is no Congressional detention, but maybe there ought to be.

Having said that, I don't remember this level of projectile sweat after a significant number of Democrats actually booed George W. Bush when, again from the NYT, "he made his case for Social Security changes during his 2005 State of the Union address."

Alas. The double standard, yet again. Democrats … good. Republicans … bad.

The speech was so NOT a "game changer" that by Thursday even Nancy Pelosi was backing away from her "no public option - no bill" stance which she had been touting as recently as Tuesday afternoon.

According to Dave Espo's reporting for the Associated Press:

Reid said that while he favors a strong "public option," he could be satisfied with establishment of nonprofit cooperatives, along the lines expected to be included in the bill taking shape in the Finance Committee.

Pelosi, who has long favored a measure that allows the government to sell insurance, passed up a chance to say it was a nonnegotiable demand. As long as legislation makes quality health care more accessible and affordable, "we will go forward with that bill," she said.

There is a long, long road to travel before the House and the Senate agree on health care reform. What will probably come out the other end is something which has a title like: "The Health Care for Every American Act of 2009" but which will do little more than tinker around the edges.

In the end, the Nationals hung on to win that game 8-7. The grand slam was exciting, but the Phillies still lost.

Obama's speech was very much like a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth with two out and the home team two runs behind. It was pretty and it brought the home town fans to their feet, but it didn't change the outcome of the game.

New Topic

Please, for the next 20 seconds, put down your coffee cup, close your eyes, and say a prayer for those who died in the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Thank you.

On the Secret Decoder Ring page today: Links to the Wash Post piece about other parliaments acting badly in chambers and to Dave Espo's AP story. A pretty good two-foto Mullfoto which shows how fuel efficient is the MullFord and a Catchy Caption of the Day from China.