AnnotatedOpinions.com

It was serendipitous to have almost simultaneous climaxes in Copenhagen and Congress. The former’s accomplishment was indiscernible, the latter’s was unsightly.  

It would have been unprecedented had the president not described the outcome of the Copenhagen climate change summit as “unprecedented,” . . . Actually, the mountain beneath the summit . . . labored mightily and gave birth to a mouselet, a 12-paragraph document committing the signatories to . . . make a list. [AO: Actually, Copenhagen gave birth to more than a list. As the Houston chronicle, New York Times and other publications describe, the climate summit produced “an agreement with the Chinese on a major sticking point — monitoring emission levels.” The summit also produced “a general statement of principles embraced by major conference attendees.”  

One of the most important outcomes of the summit, however, was the nonbinding accord setting “a goal of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, or about 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit.” There was also the agreement between developed countries to help poor countries fund activities that fight climate change such as preventing deforestation.  

In other words, contrary to what the writer, George Will, suggests, Copenhagen produced more than a list. Moreover, although President Obama may have described the outcome as “unprecedented,” he also stated that “This progress did not come easily, and we know that this
progress alone is not enough.” Most people who followed to summit recognize that more will have to be done to fight climate change. Obama, of all people, recognizes that.]  

At least the president got a health-care bill through the Senate. But what problem does it “solve” (Obama’s word)? Not that of the uninsured, 23 million of whom will remain in 2019. Not that of rising health-care spending. This will rise faster over the next decade. [AO: Here, Will makes an incorrect insinuation. The health insurance bill solves a number of problems.   

• The Bill cover more than 30 million Americans who currently don’t have health insurance
• The bill will, “by 2019, result in 94 percent of all citizens and legal residents below Medicare age having health insurance.”
• The bill will “reduce deficits over the next decade by $132 billion and even more in the following decade.”
• The bill provides tax cuts to help small businesses buy insurance and provides subsidies to help individuals do the same.
• It funds projects to investigate cost-saving measures.

So yes, the bill solves a number of problems. Sure it doesn’t solve all our health insurance problems, like the 23 million who will remain uninsured in 2019, but can we really expect such a landmark bill coming out of congress to solve all our health insurance problems?   

Sweeping legislations passed in the past have required numerous tweaking over subsequent years. No doubt the current health insurance bill, if passed, will require further fixes. Having waited decades, Congress must pass the current bill and fix its shortcomings later or we coule be waiting decades for another health insurance bill.]