Day: July 20, 2014

Unfortunately, We Just Happen to Have Such a Party

Trish

Only a complete moron, or a political party filled with complete morons, would allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good.

— “Margie,” commenting on a story about United Healthcare’s decision to abandon its previously slow entrance into state health insurance exchanges and go from participating in only four states this year to nearly half next. Kaiser Health News estimates that if UHC been in more states in the first year of implementation of the Affordable Care Act, its premiums would be five percent lower.

Let’s Do Math! Republicans, Please Grab a Pencil

Trish
Former Pres. George W. Bush on one of his many breaks, which often involved falling off a mountain bike, falling off a Segway, strumming a guitar while New Orleans drowned, and choking on pretzels.

The Obama family is on vacation. That means it’s time for Republicans and tea partiers to take a break from obstructing legislation, nomination approvals, and any other work in Congress (including suing the president for taking appropriate executive action to counter their inaction) to express ginned-up outrage that the people’s business won’t be done if the president takes a few days off.

It’s also time for the rest of us to do some math, based on figures researched by Politifact’s Truthometer:

  • Number of vacation days, in whole or part, enjoyed by Pres. Obama at this point in his term, which on July 20, 2014 happened to be exactly six years and seven months: 92
  • Number of vacation days, in whole or part, enjoyed by Pres. George W. Bush at the same point in his term: 367

Let’s put these numbers in context.

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