THE SYSTOCRAT PAPERS

Fellow Systocrats:

As most of you are aware, on Monday night Obama became the first sitting president to make an appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman."  It has since been suggested to me that Obama should NOT do talk shows, late night tv, etc., as it is undignified and otherwise inappropriate for a president to appear in such a casual forum.  Furthermore, the argument goes, it's wrong to pander to the "lowest common denominator" (or "LCD") i.e. those that don't take the necessary measures to keep themselves informed.

I've given this issue some thought, and I completely disagree.  In fact, I think we should be doing everything we can to reach out to the LCD before they take us all down with them.

Why is the uninformed LCD class so dangerous?  Just look at the numbers on health care.  A Gallup poll dated September 8, 2009 indicates that 72 percent of Republicans want their elected representative in Congress to vote against health care reform and concludes that overall, more Americans are opposed to health care reform (39%) than for it (37%).

Similarly, an August NBC/WSJ telephone survey reveals that while an overwhelming majority of Americans believe that some measure of health care reform is necessary, at the beginning of the survey, more Americans (42%) than not (36%) felt that Obama's plan for health care reform was a bad idea.  A few questions later, the interviewer sets forth Obama's plan in more detail - explaining, for example, that the plan requires insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions - and then asks the question again.  The second time around, we see a dramatic shift in the numbers - 53% in favor of Obama's plan and 43% opposed. 

As I've previously stated, a health care bill that provides consumer protections and includes a non-mandatory, self-sustaining public option is a no-brainer.  So, how is it that so many Americans are opposed to it, even after the basics of the plan are laid out for them?  Who makes up this 43%?   While I'm sure there are some thinking Americans out there who oppose reform on reasoned, logical grounds, especially given the fact that the matter is largely in the hands of a bunch of self-interested political hacks in D.C., I'm guessing that lots of other people just don't understand that health care reform is generally in their best interests. 

I'm also guessing that the LCD class is largely responsible for placing Dubya in the White House for two terms (or at least for rendering these elections close enough to steal) despite the fact that the Bush administration did absolutely nothing for the vast majority of Americans.   As Thomas Frank notes, conservatives have been very successful in winning over working class Americans with a feigned interest in social concerns like Christian fundamentalism, gun rights, etc. while simultaneously screwing these same people over with their fiscal policies. 

And now the LCD ranks are swelling with people who believe the nonsensical propaganda of the health insurance lobby about the proposed health care plan.  According to the August NBC-WSJ poll quoted above, a significant number of Americans believe that the following scenarios will actually come to pass:

- 55% of Americans believe that health care reform will give coverage to illegal immigrants;

- 54% believe that health care reform will lead to a government takeover of the health care system;

- 50% believe that taxpayer dollars will be used to fund abortions; and

- 45% believe that "death panels" will make decisions about when to stop providing medical care to the elderly.  

What could possibly be the cause of such ignorance among our compatriots?  I refuse to believe that these people are idiots who are incapable of grasping the finer points of health care reform.  Instead, I think that most of us are too busy trying to keep our heads above water to spend the necessary time ferreting out the truth amid all the misinformation out there. 

Moreover, when busy people turn on the tube after a hard day's work, many of them are not going to seek out more bad news on the cable news channels.  Instead, it's all about entertainment, escapism.  Late night television.  Sitcoms.  Sports.  Fox News.  Nothing serious . . .

Since the LCD won't go in search of the truth, we need to bring the truth to the LCD.  From this perspective, Obama's appearance on Letterman Monday night looks like genius.  In fact, I think that in order to ensure that he gets his message out to the LCD, he ought to appear on the following programs regularly:

1. Rush Limbaugh/Glenn Beck/Bill O'Reilly/Lou Dobbs.  The surest and most direct way to reach LCD nation.  Plus, Obama has already faced down O'Reilly, and I'd love to see Dobbs insist to Obama's face that the proposed health care reform bill WILL provide coverage to illegal immigrants.  For all his bluster, I don't think Dobbs has the stones. 

2. Any reality talent show - American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, etc.  His best bet is to be a guest judge.  Brother can't dance, and I'm pretty sure he can't sing worth a damn either.  

3. The View.  Let's be sure to seat him right next to Elizabeth Hasselback when she returns from maternity leave . . . .

4.  Grey's Anatomy: Here's the plot.  Obama experiences significant head trauma in a horrible car accident and lands in the GA emergency room.  He eventually comes to and seems fine, but all he can talk about is his plan for health care reform.  The cast members can drop in and out and drop random remarks about how badly the current system sucks . . . 

5.  Desperate Housewives: Obama approaches one of the housewives and asks if they'd like to hear about the details of his health care plan.  Mistaking this line for a come-on, the Housewife du jour takes Obama home (in the middle of the afternoon, of course) changes into something more comfortable and settles down on the couch to hear Obama's pitch.  Eventually she'll get frustrated cause he won't do anything but blather on about health care reform. 

6.  Any of the following: NFL game (didn't he give a short speech at halftime last year); important NASCAR event; MLB playoff game.  Maybe Obama should film a health care PSA that looks like a beer commercial and run that during the games.  "Hi.  Would YOU like to be less filling and taste great?  Check out my healthcare plan . . . "

7. Any music awards show - the VMAs, CMAs, etc.  Got to be some LCD cats watching those.  If nothing else, Kanye will be there, and lord knows that somebody needs to talk some sense to that guy!!