Unity?

The editors at the New Republic have recently lent their views to the partisan aspect of the health care debate in an op-ed titled "Long live the death of bipartisanship." Attached are the comments I submitted to them:

I agree with you that Democrats don't have to work with Republicans in a bipartisan fashion. Furthermore, if I was in favor of additional government intervention in healthcare (I'm not) I would likely see things the same way: Why risk getting what you want (or dilute it) by seeking a "bipartisan" bill?

But what of the President? One of the central themes of candidate Obama was unity and an end to partisanship. If you were in the middle (and neither of us are), what if you voted for Obama because you thought he would bring the country together? All the major legislation thus far has been very partisan: the stimulus bill, the budget, cap and trade, and now health care. Do you think he has been successful in bringing the country together?

The fault (to the extent that partisanship is a fault) is certainly shared between Obama and Republicans for not working together. I think, however, that candidate Obama's words about unity are an important aspect of the partisanship of the health care debate. Don't you?