How Obama screwed-up on health-care reform

Advertising is the science of convincing people they need something they didn't think they needed or that your brand is better then the others. The White House forgot about that (or maybe didn't realize they needed to sell their plan). For that matter, did they even have a plan? It seems to me that Obama said to the House and Senate leadership, "Go ahead and cobble together a bill," without giving the slightest guidance. Did he think everyone knew our health-care system is broken and how it should be fixed?

The average American thinks that his health insurance is adequate and that his medical providers charge reasonable fees, but the average American has never had a serious medical condition. Sure, they probably know a family member or coworker who has, but they probably don't know the financial details. They sign-up for payroll deductions and forget about the premiums until the next open-season and even then probably stay with the same options. If they were self-employed and had to pay the entire cost of their health insurance they would be very aware of the rates. If no one was buying, the sellers would have to reduce their prices.

So the average guy is thinking, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Somehow Obama missed the boat on that. He should have been speaking about the problems for months before a bill was ever introduced into Congress. He should have had the American public begging to have Congress fix the problems. He should have anticipated the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) about costs increasing instead of decreasing the Republicans would throw at it. Republicans can't fight much if their constituents demand otherwise. He should have had his congressional friends co-sponsor his bill instead of coming up with a bill full of earmarks. He did it right on the jobs bill that passed the Senate 70-28 today. He's doing that now but it's too late; the damage has been done. Is it irreparable damage? We'll soon see.