WASHINGTON — With the struggle over healthcare entering an even tougher phase, President Obama has hit both a milestone and a speed bump in his dual pursuit of a major overhaul of the nation's medical system and a rebirth of progressivism in America.
House approval of legislation Saturday -- even if Democrats can move it no further -- was an accomplishment that has eluded presidents for decades. But the close vote and the exertions it took to secure a majority were laden with warning signs as the issue moves to the Senate.
Even though the House is a bastion of liberalism, the healthcare overhaul was a tougher sell than expected and the bill turned out to be more conservative in its price tag, more limited in the scope of its government-run insurance option and tighter in its restrictions on abortion funding than many Democrats had hoped.
Moreover, the narrow victory -- 220 to 215 in a chamber where Democrats hold 258 seats -- was unsettling for liberals because moderate Democrats have a louder voice in the Senate and Republicans have more stalling power.
What is more, the political climate has become more challenging for progressivism than it was when Obama's agenda for change was launched in his 2008 presidential campaign and ratified with his resounding election one year ago.
"The joys and the exultant expectations . . . have been mainly silenced by a year of economic turmoil and international uncertainty," Democratic pollster Peter Hart wrote in a recent memo marking Obama's election anniversary.
"But more striking than the domestic and international struggles is the sense of disappointment and disgust the American public feels toward Washington," he said.
When Obama was campaigning, public animus toward President Bush was read as a broad mandate for change.
Now polls find many independent voters questioning whether Obama is bringing the change they wanted.
A year ago, rising healthcare costs were at the top of voters' worries; now, with unemployment in double digits, jobs are paramount.
"It's an historic accomplishment, but I'm not sure it's consistent of the public mood," Vin Weber, a Republican strategist and former House member, said of the House healthcare bill.
"They began pursuing it at a time when they believed we were entering a new progressive era in American politics. But the public has shifted in its attitudes toward taxing, spending and the size of deficits in the last eight to nine months."
