Paul Krugman, in a NYT article, “Obama’s Trust Problem,” says the furious reaction of progressives to Obama’s compromise on a public option in health care reform might mean that Obama is in real trouble with his own base. Krugman says that it is ridiculous for the administration to express surprise at progressive outrage.
Krugman writes, “It’s hard to avoid the sense that Mr. Obama has wasted months trying to appease people who can’t be appeased, and who take every concession as a sign that he can be rolled.
“Indeed, no sooner were there reports that the administration might accept co-ops as an alternative to the public option than G.O.P. leaders announced that co-ops, too, were unacceptable.
“So progressives are now in revolt. Mr. Obama took their trust for granted, and in the process lost it. And now he needs to win it back.”
