Millions of Americans are crying foul because of a broken promise by their president. Make that promises! “Be careful to keep your promise,” said George Washington, “Father of America”, nearly 300 years ago, but dazzled by the newly-elected, young, charming, black president, all were willing to do his bidding. They were too blind to realise that there was little truth within him and too early to discover that his luster was in himself, not in his achievements. The first item on his agenda was health insurance for all, which came to be known as: “Obamacare”, a virtual re-hauling of the whole medical system, to provide insurance for 30 million uninsured. Fortunately for Barack Obama, Democrats were a majority in both the House and the Senate. Too eager to bend to the will of a single man, even when in error, they hurriedly prepared and quickly signed Obamacare into law. Wily Republicans, wary of its pitfalls, refrained from endorsing such a partisan plan, both unfair and injurious to the public. They tried to stop it but their toil was in vain, their efforts, fruitless. Not one single Republican accepted to sign. Unabashed, the president, who had little need for their votes, rushed in a mad frenzy with the soul of a Nero burning Rome, he signed the first legislation, thus destroying the best medical system in the world. To a sceptical public he made this solemn promise: “If you like your present health plan, you can keep it. Period! If you like your present doctor, you can keep him. Period!” “Hurrah”, cried the uninformed public, cheering eagerly for a new socialised medical plan, by which all can be covered and all can keep their insurance. The president forced a piece of legislation that was far from adequate for all, misleading a hopeful electorate. Should they have known better? They should have. He repeated it in all his campaign speeches. He even spelled it out to one voter on the campaign trail, thus: “My idea is to spread the wealth,” “Hurrah” cried the enthusiasts, what a noble and humane goal. But it was not the whole truth. The debut date of implementation of the new law was 1 October. Six weeks later only five have enrolled when they were hoping for 30,000 per day. Why? Well, nothing worked. After $500,000 and more than three years of preparation, the White House is running around like a dog chasing its tail. Dismissing the problems as minor glitches, they sent their surrogates to defend, explain, lay blame elsewhere, but never admitting their original sin. Such a mammoth undertaking that controls one-sixth of the nation's budget required more effort, more time. Why not simply insure those 30 million? Period! A misleading impression is as good as a lie! The Obama administration has made a habit of being economical with the truth, to put it mildly. Democrats knew full well then what all of America knows now. Obamacare could not, would not, work for all equitably. Even his darling liberal media has turned against him. If only the powers-that-be had just looked next door to Canada, or across the pond to Britain, they would have realised how futile their efforts were. The UK is now ditching socialised medicine. Hospitals are closing, doctors are retiring. David Cameron, British PM, has introduced a bill seeking to partially privatise the National Health Service in an effort to avoid a Greek meltdown. Too much bureaucracy interferes with patient care. Four out of five British doctors oppose it. Private medical practices are expanding, because patients prefer to pay than wait for months for an appointment and die waiting. The old, the very sick are often denied dialysis, cancer surgeries etc, in favour of younger patients, due to shortages of time and resources. It is irresistible to get something for nothing! We all wish it but no government can afford it. The British have discovered that. Time is wasted on the questionable while the genuinely needy are shortchanged. US medical care, so far, has been the best in history, attracting royalty, leaders and celebrities worldwide. It has prolonged life, improved the quality of life and dedicated researchers have lit the way to thorough medical care. This has now been shattered. Can Humpty Dumpty be put together again? Americans feel unsafe, as millions of insurers have been dropped and millions of others have seen their premiums double, triple, even quadruple. As for hopeful Obamacare candidates they still cannot access the web. Like fools, Democrats rushed in “where wise men fear to tread”. Obama is “sorry” so many have been inconvenienced, but will do nothing to mend it. He was very sorry about the four Americans killed in Benghazi, and promised the perpetrators shall be found and justice shall be served; he was also unaware that the Internal Revenue Service was clamping down on Tea Party members, as he was unaware that Merkel & Co were being spied upon. Is he clueless, or just a perpetual denier? Broken promises come to haunt you and Obama is a haunted man. The irony is that after all the agony 30 million will still be left uninsured, and by some estimates it can reach 100 million. Will all the phantoms of Obamacare victims ever absolve him of his untruthfulness? What vengeful nights of waking and regretting await Obama!
“To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.” George Macdonald (1824-1905)
