Democrats who support any final bill are at risk. They’ll be held responsible for the mess that quickly emerges as premiums rise, taxes balloon, deficits soar, mandates expand, and government power grows.
Mr. Obama’s problem is that his Magic Kingdom Health Care World is colliding with reality. There is a big cost to any large government expansion—and the ways to cover the cost of Mr. Obama’s plan are limited, unpopular, and sure to anger Americans once they are fully understood.
Ironically, the president who never stopped campaigning hasn’t made the sale to Americans because he’s forgotten a central rule of campaigning: Your arguments have to be clear and credible if voters are to believe them. His attempt to sell health care is neither. He still may win passage of a bill, but he’s lost the public’s enthusiastic backing.