President Obama's health care "plan" is going down like a handful of tacks, and the Democratic Party, experiencing the political equivalent of a nervous breakdown, is poised to commence a civil war over health reform that could virtually tear the party's leaders to shreds.

The White House has made a series of irreversible blunders that have left the party, and the President, in peril.

* Message schizophrenia. The talking points coming out of the White House these days are harder to follow than a Jessica Simpson autobiography. First, there was the moral imperative that it wanted to move forward with universal health care to cover the 46 million uninsured. This number is misleading. Many of the uninsured are offered insurance and don't take it, and millions are illegal aliens. More troubling is the fact that the former director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says that 43% have the means to buy insurance but don't. CBO projections among the uninsured in 2009: 18% will be eligible for but not enrolled in Medicaid, and 30% will be offered, but will decline, coverage from an employer, leaving the electorate questioning a full overhaul.

When the original argument fell flat, the White House quickly shifted to an economic imperative that its plan would help cut the rising cost of care. Not so, according to the CBO, which found that the Democratic "plan" will raise - not cut - costs. Nothing blows up a sales pitch like getting mugged by reality.

* Hubris. There's a proverb that states that pride comes before a fall. Not only did Obama's overbearing pride cause him to grossly underestimate how savvy seniors and the entire American electorate is when it comes to health care, it also allowed him to overestimate his own understanding of the issue - particularly from a purely political standpoint.

* Playground Tactics. Insults are generally reserved for people who cut you off while driving. They aren't smart strategy when used against the people who elected you.

The left discounted the initial concern and anger of its constituents and insulted them by calling them "angry mobs" and "evil." When you put forth a plan that is baked with every possible political poison from half a trillion in tax hikes to penalties for small business to fund it, you can't expect anything but legitimate fury.

Worse yet, as polls show support for health reform declining along with Obama's approval numbers, the administration continues to ignore the public outcry. It is either in serious denial, doesn't give a damn about losing Congress to Republicans in 2010, or is more beholden to the far left than one could have ever imagined.

* Poor Planning. Obama and his team never expected to have to fight "evildoers" all August long over universal health care. The President's presumption anticipated a bill being sent to his desk the first week in August. In fact, that's exactly what Dr. Obama ordered. And because they didn't think they'd experience any pushback, they never had a real blueprint, especially when it came time to explain how they were going to pay for it. Cutting $300 billion from Medicare would result in fewer services for seniors. That's not exactly going to move the masses.

* History. They ignored it. What's the saying? "Smart people learn from their mistakes, while wise people learn from the mistakes of others." The Obama team didn't learn from the mistakes of the Clintons when it comes to trying to reform health care. One look back at the 1990s would have shown the left that the more people hear about drastic changes like a government option in health care, the more they dislike it.

Again we see the arrogance. Or perhaps it was ignorance. Notice a theme here?

The next few weeks will be pivotal for Obama and his credibility. There is little room for error. That means he'll need two plans: one for the nation, and one to protect his political health.

It’s said that when people are experiencing trials and tribulations, they often seek a higher power. The President is apparently one of them.

Yesterday, in perhaps the most overtly religious move of his tenure thus far, the selectively faithful Obama preached his message to more than 1,000 leaders of different faiths in two conference calls, hoping they will see the light with regard to his overhaul. No word if Reverend Wright was on the line.

According to the LA Times: “The effort, known as ‘40 Days for Health Reform,’ features a national television ad, prayer rallies, meetings in congressional districts where lawmakers are waffling and a nationwide ‘sermon weekend’ at the end of August. The push also aims to influence leaders in the Jewish faith before the fall religious holidays.

I suppose grassroots organizing isn’t so bad when you have the guy upstairs on your side. Take that town hall evil doers!

“We are God's partners in matters of life and death," Obama said during the call with Jewish leaders, according to Washington Rabbi Jack Moline via Twitter.

Translation: Seeee America?? It’s just you and the man upstairs. No death panels!

Further, Pastor Obama said that many were “bearing false witness” and took a shot at his opposition calling the pushback to date: “fabrications that have been put out there in order to discourage people from meeting what I consider to be a core ethical and moral obligation: that is that we look out for one another, that I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper. In the wealthiest nation on earth right now, we are neglecting to live up to that call.”

If Obama wants to be his brother's keeper, shouldn’t he start with his own family?

So much has been made over Obama’s religion it’s an interesting turn of events that he has strategically decided to channel biblical references in hopes of turning believers into believing in his plan.

But will this theme of holy healthcare stick? When it comes to messages on universal health reform Obama has been all over the map. He initially argued it was a moral imperative, then quickly shifted to an economic imperative that reform would save costs. When the Congressional Budget Office debunked that theory saying the plan would actually raise costs, the White House pivoted yet again to a political imperative: demonizing the big insurance companies. Now with his plan and poll numbers in peril, he’s back to embracing the moral dimension to this discussion in the hopes of a political miracle.

But what exactly are Obama’s morals? Defend the weakest or reward the dumbest? Obama paints a picture of an indigenous mass of nomads but the CBO projects that among the uninsured in 2009, 17 percent will have family income above 300 percent of the poverty level (about $65,000 for a family of four); 18 percent will be eligible for but not enrolled in Medicaid; and 30 percent will be offered, but will decline, coverage from an employer.

Isn’t it their moral duty to get coverage, rather than have others foot the bill for those who make bad decisions? And isn’t our moral duty to try and cover them first before strapping future generations into massive debt? Can I get an amen for personal responsibility?

Not long ago Obama criticized those who cling to their religion. With support for his mission rapidly fleeting, he’s now the one with open arms asserting that if you believe in God you should believe in his policies. I guess in times of adversity, it’s acceptable to use a Hail Mary to get us to cling to him.

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 As the Democratic Party finds itself on the precipice of a civil war over a public option in universal healthcare, President Obama finds himself in the political fight of his life. A fight for his credibility and capital, one that will present serious choices and leave little room for error. Nobody knows what he’ll do, but let’s take a look at his options:

1. Run. If Hillary Clinton were President she’d take that healthcare hot potato and chuck it. Obama has displayed an appalling lack of leadership on heath reform. He sent no bills of his own to the Hill.  He took no specific positions on the five bills in the House and Senate.  He gave flowery calls to action and gave Pelosi and Reid the reigns. The best thing that could happen to him is that he pretends he was never as close to the problem as we suspected (Think Reverend Wright style). He’d have to throw leftist, congressional Dems under the political bus but he’d rather be on the side of the popular opinion than in the progressive minority on this one. He may loose a body of Congress as Bill Clinton did, but he’ll have a better shot of re-election. Where else is the far left going to go in 2012? Nader?

2. Rebrand Republican Ideas. The polls collectively display an overwhelming opposition to the government getting its grimy paws in healthcare. If the mismanagement of Medicaid and Medicare are any indication, it’s undoubtedly best. Obama, typically one to never want to be on the wrong side of a poll, could forgo the real public option and co-opt a Republican idea like signing up those 18 million Americans who are eligible for Medicaid but aren’t on the rolls. He could then call that his government option. Throw some cultish iconography on it, shout “Yes We Did” a few times at some rally and hope for the best. The left would still be pissed, but it would help him save face with the rest of the country without completely going into the witness protection program.

3. Be a Faux Bipartisan. Obama preached about reaching across the aisle during the campaign but hasn’t exactly performed. If he thought about it, it was only to choke someone for nailing him on his excessive spending and failed stimulus. He could bring in the GOP for buy-in to his plan by forgoing the public option and adding some populist themes to his push like tort reform. Then once Republicans have come on board, he blames them for everything that’s wrong with healthcare and start with Medicare. The move is super Clintonian and it’s unlikely Obama has the ability to pull it off as adeptly as Bill did, but it’s still on the table.

4. Roll Over. His final, and most politically unwise option, is to let the far left have their way with him by unquestionably, consistently advocating for a public option. He’ll task Pelosi with ramming it through the House and gear up for a bloodbath in the Senate. He will likely write his own obituary, and his party will have just about eaten each other alive, but he might not care if he thinks it’ll earn him historic grandeur in academic textbooks.

Obama needs to make up his mind and do it quickly. The electorate may have signaled they’ll be patient with the new President, but after weeks of public blunders, insults, ignored outrage and message mismanagement their patience has run thin.

Once upon a time our president wasn’t always down on dissent. After all, he was a community organizer way before he ever became a politician.

“Go out and talk to your friends and talk to your neighbors. I want you to talk to them whether they are independent or whether they are Republican. I want you to argue with them and get in their face,” Senator Obama told his supporters on the campaign trail in fall of 2008. 
 
So I suppose he was for bickering before he was against it? 
 
The left has always loved community organizing—when it’s their interest. Heck, they are being lead by an expert in the field. But when regular folks gather to express unhappiness in the form of a dissenting opinion to their progressive agenda, they despise it, delegitimize it and seek to stop it at all costs. Grassroots are bad when the roots aren’t firmly planted in the liberal ground.
Apparently bills in Congress aren't the only thing Democrats haven't read in a while -- how about the Constitution? Remember that? Isn’t this enshrined in the Constitution -- freedom of Assembly? Isn’t this one of the foundations of our democracy, organizing, getting like-minded people with the same views to come together, whether they're in Birkenstocks or Brooks Brothers? 

The White House has called the uproar at recent town halls on health care “manufactured outrage.” Senator Harry Reid calls the concerned citizens speaking their minds “loud, shrill voices.”  Nancy Pelosi called protesters Nazis, who are "carrying swastikas and symbols like that to a town meeting on health care." There is no evidence on this whatsoever. 
 
And Senator Barbara Senator Boxer Senator (not to be outdone on insanity by Speaker Pelosi) has objected to the dress code of protesters. (Did I mention she was a Senator??) She claims they’re “too well dressed” to be legit. You just can’t have a real protest without some tie dye, marijuana and a flaming brassiere, huh.

Ma’am, this is what people with jobs look like. I guess one needs to strip to his or her tighty whities to be taken seriously. 
 
But the polling discredits their charges. According to a recent Quinnipiac poll, on Obama’s effort to overhaul of the health-care system, 52 percent disapprove of his handling of the issue while 39 percent approve. Disapproval jumped 10 points in the last month alone, and 60 percent of Independents – a key voting block – disapprove of the plan. Bottom line: the outrage is real. 
 
Despite the legitimacy of the public’s concern, demonizing democracy has become pretty common these days for the left. They wrote off the tea parties as fabricated and absurdly claimed they were funded by FOX News . Most of the mainstream media took their cue from them and refused to report on the gatherings. Congressional Democrats sought to reimpose the “fairness doctrine” on broadcasters in order to shut down the one conservative-leaning communications medium, talk radio. And the administration has already tried to label anyone who speaks up as a “radical right wing extremist.”
 
By dismissing the anger of conservatives, moderates, libertarians, conservative democrats  and independents the administration looks out of touch and appallingly arrogant. In fact, it will hurt them even more because Obama promised to listen to the concerns of the citizens, not operate with a tin ear.
 
Once upon a time, liberals prided themselves as the staunchest defenders of free speech. Now they are its fiercest opponents. In case they have forgotten, the root of the word "democrat" means power to the people. That means all people. Even when they aren’t wearing tie dye.