• Former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) continues to go off the deep end, appearing on the Glenn Beck show
• Has Massa done damage to the Democrats and the health care bill?
• The health care bill as it is now – would you vote for it, or not?

Guests

• Lee Saunders, currently Executive Assistant to AFSCME President Gerald McEntee, is running for the International Secretary-Treasurer position of the union
• Bob Fertik, co-founder of Democrats.com will talk about health care reform

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• Bill’s Blog: The President’s Mistake on Terrorism
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At first, Attorney General Eric Holder announced they were going to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed in federal court in lower Manhattan.

Which was absolutely the right thing to do. That’s where the first World Trade Center bombers were tried and convicted. Zacarias Moussaoui was also tried in federal court, in Alexandria. And Richard Reid, in Boston.

In fact, over the last nine years, hundreds of terrorism suspects have been tried in federal criminal court – and 88 percent of them have been convicted and are now in prison.

Over the same period, by contrast, only three suspects have been tried in military tribunals – and only one of them is behind bars.

But, even though he was only following procedures established by George Bush and Dick Cheney, Republicans accused Obama of being soft on terror.

And now, instead of sticking to his guns and doing what’s right, it looks like Obama’s caving in: taking the case out of New York City, out of criminal court, and into some secret military tribunal.

If so, again, he’s making a big mistake. These terrorists are not soldiers in any army. They don’t deserve the honor of a military tribunal.

That’s my parting shot for today.

• Eric Massa: Has he gone off the deep end? Or, telling the  truth? Is he doing damage to the democratic party?
• President Obama continues his pitch for health care reform, going after insurance companies

Guests

• Aaron Swartz, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee will discuss their work to include the public option in health care reform
• US News and World Report White House Correspondent Ken Walsh gives us the latest from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave

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• Bill’s Blog: Corruption is Bipartisan
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Remember? We used to call it the “culture of corruption.” And we made gladly the case for throwing the bums out and putting Democrats in charge, so they could clean up the mess in Washington and give the American people the cleanest government ever.

And now? Once Democrats are in power, we find ourselves having to defend Eliot Spitzer, John Edwards, David Paterson, Charlie Rangel, and Eric Massa.

Oh, my God! Corruption, it seems, is the only thing about politics that is, in fact, truly bipartisan.

Are we surprised? Not really. After all, knowing human nature, we realize that neither Democrats nor Republicans are angels.

But are we disappointed? Of course. Because we expect more of our friends and fellow Democrats. We count on them to adhere to a higher ethical standard than those no-good Republicans. And we’re embarrassed, and angry, when they don’t.

Which is not to condemn anybody. The jury is still out on David Paterson, Charlie Rangel, and Eric Massa.

But if, in fact, they are found guilty of allegations against them, then we have to be as hard on them as we were on Tom Delay.

Maybe even harder, because they were our friends.

That’s my parting shot for today.

• The Oscars: Surprise! No big win for Avatar, and more
• Health Care: Republicans offer nothing but talking points over the weekend
• The 9/11 terror trials: Should the suspects be tried in civilian or military court?

Guests

• House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) will discuss the latest on health care reform
• Boston Globe Washington Bureau Reporter Matt Viser will discuss Scott Brown’s recent trip to campaign for John McCain

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• Bill’s Blog: The Kid-Friendly Skies
• Bill’s Latest Column: Drawing the Battle Lines on Health Care
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And that’s the story of the air traffic controller at New York’s JFK airport who took his kids to work – and actually let them take over the microphone to direct traffic on a couple of outgoing flights.

There’s so much about this story I can’t believe.

For starters, how could that employee possibly be so clueless? What if there had been a sudden emergency, like another plane taxiing onto the same runway, where a split second decision had to be made?

And why did the pilots just laugh and go along, as if it was just a funny stunt? Are they that careless about proper safety procedures? Did they really want their flight operations guided by a 7-year old?

But my first concern is: Why should anybody, other than trained personnel, be allowed in an airport tower? Any outsider is an obvious distraction from what we are all told is the most stressful job in the world.

It’s hard to believe the FAA didn’t act sooner, but they’d better crack down quick – before somebody lets a 7-year old take over controls of a 747.

That’s my parting shot for today.

Tribune Media Services

At long last, the preliminaries are over and we’re entering the final rounds of the health care reform debate.

After making the mistake of staying on the sidelines for too long, President Obama stepped up to the plate on Wednesday, March 3, and took charge. Before a crowd of health professionals packed into the East Room of the White House, he laid forth his best attempt at a compromise solution — and dared Congress to act.

We’ve talked about it long enough, Obama said. While they disagree about what to do about it, both Republicans and Democrats agree that the current system is broken and must be fixed. So, he argued, it’s time to stop debating the issue and get something done. Legislation on health care in some form has already passed both the House and the Senate, so now it deserves a final vote.

It shouldn’t take 60 votes in the Senate, either, Obama noted. Health care, he insisted, “deserves the same kind of up or down vote that was cast on welfare reform, that was cast on the Children’s Health Insurance Program, that was used for COBRA health coverage for the unemployed, and, by the way, for both Bush tax cuts — all of which had to pass Congress with nothing more than a simple majority.”

Finally! If President Obama had only given that speech six months ago, we’d already have health care reform in the bank. But his speech does set the stage for final approval of health care before March 26, when Congress leaves town for a two-week Easter break. At which point the scene will shift dramatically from legislation to election-year politics.

Republicans, of course, have been playing politics with the issue from the beginning. In July 2009, South Carolina’s Jim DeMint let the cat out of the bag when he told conservative supporters “If we’re able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.” Ever since then, the goal of Republicans has been, not to push their own version of health care, but to use all available tools, including the filibuster, to kill anything Obama proposed.

That plan having apparently failed, Republicans have already switched tactics: predicting that passage of health care reform legislation will mean political ruin for Democrats in November. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned Democrats this week: “If somehow this bill is passed, (in the next election) every Republican candidate will be campaigning to repeal it.”

To which, Democrats, borrowing a phrase from George W. Bush, should respond: “Bring it on!”

The idea that passage of major health care reform legislation will prove to be a political liability for Democrats is one of the biggest canards ever uttered in American politics. Indeed, all evidence is that the exact opposite is true. It wasn’t so long ago that we did have an election focused, in great part, on universal health care. One candidate was for it. One candidate was against it. And the pro-reform candidate now sits in the Oval Office.

Nor has the desire of Americans for health care protection for themselves and their families changed since. Americans still like health care. What they don’t like is the political bickering they’ve seen for the last 14 months. They like the product, in other words, they just don’t like the process. Whatever political unrest may exist today among voters will disappear once Democrats, with a strong health care bill in hand, focus on selling the product and not on defending the process.

And there are many good features to Obama’s bill. It expands coverage to 30 million Americans. It allows young people to stay on their parents’ plan until the age of 26. It prevents insurance companies from denying coverage because of a pre-existing condition. No, it’s not the perfect bill. It should contain a public plan option. But it’s still a lot better than the status quo. The truth is: Democrats will pay a political price, no matter what they do. Politically, it’s far better to do something than to have done nothing.

If, in fact, the choice facing voters in November is between Democrats who delivered on health care reform vs. Republicans who want to repeal it and turn things back to insurance companies, Democrats will have a great day. And Mitch McConnell and John Boehner will be out of a job.

© 2010 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

• Take Your Kid To Work Day…at Air Traffic Control?
• MoveOn is going after Blanche Lincoln – is it smart for Democrats to go after members of the party that aren’t liberal enough?
• The latest on health care reform

Guests

• Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) will give his latest thoughts on health care reform, and his plan to change the filibuster
• Politico White House reporter Josh Gerstein delivers the latest from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave

Don’t Miss

• Bill’s Blog: Obama’s Call To Arms
• Bill’s Latest Column: Drawing the Battle Lines on Health Care
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Finally, President Obama has taken a strong stand – and a final stand – on health care.

Speaking in the East Room of the White House yesterday, the President was direct, convincing, and forceful.

We’ve been talking about this issue long enough, he said. We all agree the status quo is unacceptable. So, no more debate. Now’s the time to act. The American people deserve an up or down vote on health care. So, let’s have it within the next two weeks.

Yes, yes, yes. Unless you are totally in the pocket of the insurance companies, you can’t argue with that logic. Every word of it is true.

The current system is broken. It’s hurting millions of American families and businesses, which now have or provide health insurance. And it’s excluding 30-40 million Americans from coverage.

So, we must fix the system, expand coverage, lower premiums, and prevent unfair practices by insurance companies. And we must do it now.

If some Democrats don’t like it, fine – vote against it. If Republicans don’t like it, vote against it. But we must have a vote – a majority vote – and we must have it now.

On health care, President Obama has issued a call to arms. Now it’s up to the Congress to act.

That’s my parting shot for today.

• President Obama pushes ahead on health care reform
• What are the political implications of the President’s new hard-line strategy on health care – will it help or hurt Democrats?
• An air traffic controller allows his son and daughter to control air traffic at JFK in New York

Guests

• Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D-MD) will discuss the latest on health care reform
• Former DNC Chair and Governor Howard Dean gives us his thoughts on President Obama’s latest push on health care reform
• CNN Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash gives us the latest on health care from Capitol Hill, and Rep. Eric Massa’s (D-NY) sudden retirement annoucement

Don’t Miss

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