President Barack Obama trotted out a handful of people who have personally benefited from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) today and lamented that the obscenely expensive piece of legislation is only unpopular because he didn't talk about it enough. "Sometimes I fault myself for not being able to make the case more clearly to the country," he ruefully admitted. (source) What Mr. Obama refuses to acknowledge is that he talked more than enough; he just didn't listen.

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While the human props at the president's Virginia backyard photo op probably have benefited from some parts of the massive health care reform package, that does not change the fact that the new legislation is too large, too expensive and too restrictive. No one disputed the need for reasonable reform including some of the provisions mentioned during today's episode of the Obama Show. Changes that ban lifetime coverage limits and help close the Medicare coverage gap for prescription drugs are good ideas that really help people. But the federal government did not have to grab unprecedented power over individuals' lives in order to achieve those things.

Mr. Obama and his congressional cronies spent trillions of dollars which the country cannot afford on an entitlement program that is doomed to further damage the economy, kill jobs and eventually self destruct under its own weight. Real and welcome reform would have combined targeted improvements with additional measures such as allowing consumers to purchase health care insurance across state lines to improve coverage and care while lowering costs.

Instead we had a "comprehensive" monstrosity rammed down our collective throat that limits choices and lowers the quality of health care available to all. It is not surprising that a new Associated Press poll shows a mere 30% of Americans favor the new law while the desire to repeal it has become one of the major forces driving many to voting booths across the country this fall.

President Obama should cut himself some slack. He actually did a fine job of clearly making his case to the country on this issue. We understood his ideas and his plans so well that we were able to definitively decide that we don't want either of them interfering with our health care (and many other aspects of our lives). Perhaps it is we the people who have not explained our position clearly enough to him. That will be rectified in exactly 40 days.