...are seen as negatives for the president. The first is that Congress will not meet the August recess deadline for health care reform legislation. The second is this strange rumor being spread by some in the far right that Obama was somehow not born in Hawaii and therefore not an American citizen. (Never mind that if he was actually born in Kenya, as these people maintain, he would still be an American citizen by virtue of his mother's American citizenship.) I think these two unrelated items might actually end up helping the president.
The conventional wisdom is that the delay in health care legislation benefits the opponents of reform. Slowing it down, the argument goes, gives opponents more time to work on legislators and sow further doubts among the public. Maybe so. But I think it gives Obama more time to close the deal. Polls have shown that the public wants reform but is getting cold feet as certain questions, such as costs, have yet to be adequately answered. As these issues get worked out over the next two or three months in Congress and Obama has more time to sell the resulting legislation to the American people, he should be able to win back public opinion and get a bill passed sometime this fall.
As far as the birthers, as they have come to be called, this could also end up working in Obama's favor. (If you're not familiar with this issue, watch this video. Just make sure you're sitting down.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V1nmn2zRMc
In the near term it may seem like an annoying distraction, but as time goes on these elements could be associated more and more with the president's opponents and the Republican Party in particular. Hard to believe, but the GOP's image could get even worse. This could only work to Obama's advantage.
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