The continued desire of Democratic congressional leaders to get something done on health care reform before the August recess is completely understandable, despite the odds against it.
The recent polling tells the story. Congressional job approval is down to 30 percent in the newest FOX poll. The president's job approval rating stands at a record low 54 percent, with only 43 percent approving of the job he's doing on health care. In that same poll, health care now stands fourth on people's priority list behind fixing the economy, creating jobs and reducing the deficit.
Whatever momentum this trillion-dollar plan ever had is rapidly fading, and there seems a growing sense in the country that this president is not the man voters thought they were electing.
He promised a new era of bipartisanship, then went along when Democratic congressional leaders rammed through a staggering spending bill in the name of stimulus on almost a straight party-line vote. That bill exploded the budget deficit and clearly alienated Independents, a crucial swing vote in America, and a group prone to worry about deficits.
Only 38 percent of them now approve Mr. Obama's performance on health care. These are the people who decide elections in close congressional districts, like the ones represented by the so-called Blue Dog Democrats. Small wonder the leaders want them to vote before they go home.
— Brit Hume is the senior political analyst for FOX News Channel.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox