Paul Krugman: The Obamacare Worm Continues to Turn

[Playinghardball]

Dana Milbank has an interesting piece today, on two levels.

He begins:


When will the criticism of Obamacare finally end?

I’ve done some research on the question, and by my calculations, judging from current trends, this will happen approximately .?.?. never.

He then goes on to compare Obamacare to the auto bailout, which at this point looks like a rousing success — but continues to be lambasted by the right, because it shouldn’t have worked, and therefore can’t have worked.

It’s a clever and apt comparison. But it’s something else, too: Milbank may be funny, but he’s not Shrill (TM). So when you see him asking how conservatives will react to Obamacare’s success, it’s a strong signal that the press is catching up to the reality that December is not October, and that the news — while there are still many troubles — is increasingly positive. Actually, so is Darrel Issa’s angry rebuke to a health care official: “You need to watch more Fox News.”

One thing this says is that GOP expectations that Obamacare’s collapse will lead them to triumph are way off. More generally, current polling — which reflects press coverage over the past couple of months, not the months to comes — is probably a very bad guide to future attitudes.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/17/the-obamacare-worm-continues-to-turn/?_r=1&

Discovered on the Obamadiary

[mike_c]

1. I'm confused....

What does the unemployment data from MI have to do with the OP?

[frazzled]

2. Because Milbank compared Obamacare to auto bailout

And the unemployment trends in Michigan are largely tied to the auto industry. And the unemployment trend is lookin' good. Ergo, Obamacare will look good.

I think that's it.

[mike_c]

3. ah-- that makes sense....