Jennifer Foster: Righting health reform from A to Z

President Obama will address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday to try to get a handle on the health care debate that is roiling the country and starting to spiral out of control.
Is it too early for health care overhaul jokes? White House aides apparently don’t think so: They say the president will take a more “prescriptive” approach with lawmakers. Ha, ha.
Well, it’s about time. If Obama had offered this leadership from the beginning, we might have avoided this mess.
But, better late than never, as they say. So here, from A to Z, is what the president should do:
* Acknowledge that he and his team have made mistakes throughout this effort — not the least of which was a concentrated, concerted effort to attack dissident Democrats.
* Bury the hatchet with those Democrats — and with Republicans, too.
* Concede the reality: The only bill that can possibly pass is a bill that everyone considers flawed in some way. That’s the very essence of legislative compromise.
* Determine to be the face of the new effort, for better or for worse.
* Energize reform-seeking moderates by talking up ideas where agreement already exists.
* Focus on what’s gone right this summer: Millions of Americans are now passionately engaged, on all sides of this debate. For a country whose citizens are generally apathetic, that’s a huge win.
* Govern like a grown-up. That is, stop exploiting differences, and build on consensus.
* Hold tightly to the conviction that reform is needed. Adjusting the approach doesn’t have to mean backing off.
* Invite lawmakers to submit to White House staff ideas they have heard from constituents at town hall meetings this summer. What better way to open the process?
* Justify the renewed effort on two fronts: The need for action still exists, and now that he’s learned the lessons of this brutal summer, he’s better prepared to attack it.
* Keep his eye on the ball. If reforming the system is truly the goal, victory shouldn’t involve overhauling the entire system.
* Lay out the key principles around which the bill should be built. Lawmakers simply can’t find their way without them.
* Make a distinction between politics and policy. The line has blurred more than usual this summer.
* Neutralize the rhetoric. This fire has too much fuel on it already.
* Organize lawmakers into random groups of 15 or 20 to study the issues and recommend changes. (Yes, this one’s a joke … but wouldn’t it be entertaining to watch?)
* Persistently pursue legislators of every party, who have an obligation to their constituents to engage on the issues. Don’t let them take the easy way out by walking away from the table.
* Quit dodging the tough questions. If he doesn’t know the answer, he should say so; then he should figure it out. Talk about your credibility builders.
* Reiterate the belief that reform can still happen, and it can be better because we’ve all learned from earlier mistakes.
* Seize creative alternatives as solutions. Honestly explore it all.
* Talk up the value of compromise. Getting something for everyone instead of everything for some increases buy-in — and, therefore, support — for the plan.
* Understand that unity doesn’t mean unanimity. Good folks are still going to disagree on how to approach this; that doesn’t make them “reform opponents.”
* View opponents’ arguments through their eyes. Broaden your perspective.
* Watch out for social policy masquerading as health care policy. He has his hands full enough with the latter as it is.
* eXamine (OK, I cheated) his own motives as honestly and constantly as possible.
* Yield whatever personal interests he has to those of the country as a whole.
* Zero in on the idea that positive, incremental change is still change – and, given the alternative, he’s OK with that.

Jennifer Foster is a political enthusiast who lives in Auburn and writes a column for the Opelika-Auburn News.