History often repeats itself, and in the world of President Barack Obama, his young tenure as the nation’s chief executive makes it easy to point to areas of quick comparison when it comes to correcting misfortune. After what has become the most contentious, rancorous, and difficult month of his term so far, he’s hoping for a renewed sense of consensus — at least among his own party — on the health reform bill and on domestic economic policy in general.

The WaPo has a good account of what Obama’s administration has to do to right the public perception on healthcare’s overhaul. Chief among the necessary goals is unity among his party — an imperative if Obama is able to regain footing in sagging nationwide polls. After all, where is his success without his party’s backing?

Obama has dealt with adversity before. His early months as a candidate were anything but smooth. Two years ago this month, he was on the defensive. His foreign policy pronouncements were drawing attacks from his rivals. He lagged significantly behind Hillary Rodham Clinton in the national polls. His message was still a work in progress. [...] Obama went to work. He ordered his team to step up. He found a sense of exhilaration from the foreign policy debate and refused to let his advisers give ground. He worked and reworked to hone a sharper message.

Easier said than done? If he displays the confidence expressed during his weekly address yesterday, then there is always the possiblity for Democratic consensus on economic policy, in general. But healthcare is a different animal altogether, and short of some wicked astrological alignment, chances are the end result (in terms of the bill’s passage) will be lukewarm and barely tolerable for anyone but private third parties. | LINK

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