It's wonderful that America has been racking up the medals at a feverish clip this month in Vancouver. It's truly an occasion for an outpouring of national pride, regardless of which side of the aisle you're sitting on.
Except for one problem: I wish we could win ourselves a gold medal in the nation's healthcare chaos.
The country is stuck in quicksand because the Republicans and the Democrats can't seem to agree on practically anything that really matters. The healthcare debate, as everyone calls it, seems to be about everything except. . . health. It's pathetic, really.
Maybe it's because I live in New York City and not Washington, D.C. But I just don't get it. If the two parties work out a deal, must someone inevitably feel like a loser? Is everything in Washington destined to be a zero-sum gain. That's not politics as usual any more. It's insanity.
Americans are the real losers here. We're paying taxes and getting no satisfaction. The members of Congress who insist on playing partisan politics will find that the nation's tolerance is diminishing by the day. Scott Brown's stirring victory in Massachusetts proved that clearly.
OK, I'm waiting impatiently to hear this sound coming from the halls of Congress: USA! USA! USA!
And I want it to come after a vote to solve the healthcare mess.
Jon Friedman writes the Media Webcolumn for MarketWatch. Click here to see his latest column.
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