Pressure From Both The Right And The Left Along With Countless Veteran Groups Forces A “Change Of Heart”

First off, my thanks to my “twin bruthah from anuthah muthah” and former GTL™ co-author (who seems to be doing all TOO good without me these days at his great and popular blog, Papamoka Straight Talk — click HERE to read his GTL™ Archives — 149 Op-Ed columns strong — since he’s too “good” to link to his great GTL™ work at his own blog — just kiddin’ bro!), and equally-outraged fellow Liberal, Mr. Matthew O’Keefe who tipped me off to this news in the comments section of my own outraged column a couple of days ago. Thank you, my brother from somewhere around the top of “The Boot“…

Refreshing after eight long years of I know I'm wrong but I'm sticking to it

The link to the official “good news” referred to in both my title and sub-title can be found at The Hill — my official thanks to President Obama for “changing his mind” or whatever it is he did. Don’t get me wrong, I voted for the man and I’ve only had a couple of disagreements with him thus far, which is to be expected, but he couldn’t have travelled down a more unpopular “road” than to pose the zany “idea” (if you can call it that?) to start forcing disabled American vets to seek private health care and have AIG honorable insurance companies to reimburse the VA for injuries they suffered during combat. OOPS. Even Jon Stewart harshy criticized Team Obama by asking his audience, “What the [EXPLETIVE] were you guys thinking?” (HuffPo)

While I realize more than one or six-hundred social programs probably need to be trimmed down or even cut off completely during this harsh economic crisis, this whole “bill the wounded vets” thing just didn’t resonate with me, particularly when you consider the fact President Obama not only campaigned HARD on protecting we military members with combat-area-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (“PTSD”) from unscrupulous Veterans Administration “higher ups”, he went for their throats on the issue last year (CBS News — one year and two days ago) as a Senator. Believe me, I was scratching my head two days ago (in other words, exactly one year later — to the day).

So, why the “change of heart”? Let’s turn to The Hill again for the answer:

Obama backs off plan to alter vets’ healthcare
By Roxana Tiron

The White House on Wednesday backed off a controversial plan that would have dramatically altered the way the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) handles insurance claims, after veterans groups staged an all-out fight against such a proposal.

President Obama will not pursue a proposal that would have allowed the VA to charge private insurance companies for the treatment of veterans with service- or war-related injuries. The proposal raised the ire of prominent Democrats on the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs panels. On Wednesday morning 68 Democratic and GOP House members sent Obama a letter, initiated by freshman Rep. Glenn Nye (D-Va.), urging the administration to drop the proposal.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was the first to announce Wednesday afternoon that the president won’t pursue such a proposal.

She told veterans that Obama decided to scrap the proposal “Based on the respect that President Obama has for our nation’s veterans and the principled concerns expressed by veterans’ leaders.” “Based upon our belief this was one of the most ridiculous ideas any American president has come up with aside from attacking Iraq based upon the faulty intelligence of his predecessor, FORMER President ‘Surge’ Dubya Bush’” … [Editor Note: The linethrough and subsequent translation is mine]

Well, whatever the REAL reason is for President Obama’s reversal (I think I nailed it though), my hat would be off to him for it if I were one of those “hat” guys, which I am not. In a way, I find it quite refreshing to have a president in office for once who actually is WILLING to change his mind when he comes up with an idea so incredibly IDIOTIC, it’s outrageous to both the “Left” and “Right”, and more importantly, “Joe Average American”.

After all, forget not — we’ve already endured eight long years of the exact OPPOSITE from OUR White House.

***

Other blogger reactions can be found at MemeOrandum…

A couple of my personal “faves”: Blackfive (Right); Ed Morrissey of Hot Air (Right) gives fair credit to the Democrats and Jon Stewart; Blue Crab Boulevard (Right) says “shaming them works“; Steve Bennen of The Washington Monthly (Left) says “this is a good move“

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