Two big compromises

It seems the 2 big compromises this week--that of the Copenhagen Summit on global warming (or climate change or pollution or whatever you want to call it) and health care reform, here in the US, have a great deal in common.

Both of them have people for them. Both have people against them. Both have people, somewhere in the middle who say this is the best we could get and that they are improvements and that we need to wrap our arms around them and move on.

God, I hope they're right.

On the Copenhagen summit on climate change, it seems we made progress, this time, as the US was for some good, solid action. This in stark contrast to the Kyoto Protocol that the George W. Bush administration kept us out of. At least we made that better transition. We're in on this one. We don't have to be embarassed this time and we've had input on this.

As to who knows what's in this thing right now, who can say? Frankly, following the mess this week that has been the negotiations on health care in the Senate has been demanding enough.

First, as I noted here, the White House threw out the single-payer option we needed so desperately.

Then, they threw away the "public option" so the insurance companies could stay happy and we wouldn't give them any real competition.

That stunk.

But the fact is, now people are coming out on all sides, some saying we should throw it away; others that we should keep it and that it does do some good.

It's disappointing and the Democrats caved but apparently, according to what the Congressional Budget Office says, it will help us, as a nation, to have smaller budget deficits.

I just wish it had done a lot more for the average Joe on the streets--the "you and me" of the world. I wish the Democrats had been more for us instead of for the insurance companies.

But so it goes.

Let's hope it's all progress.

In both cases, this is what compromise looks like.

We need more of that here in the States.

Links to related stories:
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari/they-didnt-seal-the-deal_b_397765.html
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