Via AmericaBlog: Krugman on the Medicare crisis: It will come down to Obama

The "Medicare crisis" — of course — isn't a crisis in the usual sense. It's a crisis created by the GOP's desire to kill it. And make no mistake; the Republicans plan to kill it.

Paul Krugman makes the essential point: This is like 2005, when Bush II tried to kill Social Security by privatizing it. Progressives won in 2005. So why is he so pessimistic about Medicare this year? One word.

Obama. He's that specific. The Professor:

In many ways, this fight resembles the 2005 fight over Social Security. Once again, we have a bait and switch, an attempt to destroy a pillar of American society in the name of saving it. And then, too, you had Democrats who were obviously itching to run up the white flag.

The difference now is that Democrats hold the White House. And that may prove to be their undoing.

In 2005, the de facto Democratic leader was Nancy Pelosi. ... Pelosi is still there. But Barack Obama is now the party’s leader. And let’s be frank: Obama still, after all that has happened, seems devoted to the dream of transcending partisanship, a dream he tries to serve by being nice to Republican ideas no matter how terrible those ideas are. ... The great danger now is that Obama — with the help of a fair number of Senate Democrats — will kill Medicare in the name of civility and outreach.

His conclusion is stark:

Republicans have, in fact, offered Democrats a huge political opportunity — much as Bush did in 2005. But I’m sorry, I have no confidence in the current leadership’s willingness to do the right thing, even when it’s also politically smart.

E.J. Dionne asks the right question:

This is all extreme and irresponsible stuff. The president knows it. The coming week will test who he is. When Ryan releases his budget, will the president finally engage?

The Professor is not optimistic about the answer. The title of his post: "The Enemy Within".

(For an excellent analysis of why the Republican Medicare "fix" will end very badly, start here.)

GP