Here’s an interesting idea (and before you continue reading note that’s highly implausible): President Barack Obama should sign the health care reform bill in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center.
Huh? Right, I know. That doesn’t make any sense. Remember this: President Lyndon Johnson upon the passage of sweeping legislation that created Medicare and Medicaid chose to sign the bill at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri. In fact, he gave President and Mrs. Truman the first two Medicare cards in honor of their efforts some twenty years previously to reform the American health care system.
Where would Mr. Obama be without the lessons from 1994? Where would some his most esteemed aides, including chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, be without that perspective?
When it passes – and it will pass – health care reform will a substantial achievement for Mr. Obama’s administration, and for history. But as Harold Pollack notes in The New Republic,
If President Obama succeeds where President Clinton failed in beating that caucus, it won’t be because of any difference in general intellect, political skills, or determination between these two gifted men. President Obama attacked the current process with advantages his predecessor didn’t have: a more solid Democratic majority, higher personal popularity, a damaged Republican opposition. President Obama also has President Clinton’s experience to build on.
This is an exhilarating victory, not withstanding many disappointments and unpalatable compromises required along the way. Smart politicians share ownership of their victories, not least because they may need co-owners of later painful defeats. That’s one reason President Obama was wise to make Hillary Clinton Secretary of State. If health reform passes, people will notice which President signs the bill.
Implausible as it may be, it would be appropropriate. And history, fortunately, illustrates a precedent.
I hope it is, if it does pass. I would love to be there protesting.