Republicans Fail to Repeal "Obamacare" Healthcare Reform Bill

REPUBLICANS in the higher house have failed to repeal the landmark Healthcare Reform Bill, passed by President Barack Obama in the House of Representatives in 2010. Republicans make up 47 of the 100 Senators in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

The vote in the Senate has come following a vote last month in the House of Representatives, which voted to repeal the bill. Due to the result of this vote, the final say will now go down to the Supreme Court.

If the Healthcare Bill is not repealed, it would provide healthcare for over 30 million Americans, however, the scheme has been bought under fire from those in the judicial branch. In a Florida case ruling, Judge Robert Vinson declared that the clause of the bill which makes healthcare mandatory for an individual infringes an "individuals rights".

The big question is, will Obama's efforts be in vain? It seems as if, at least in the media, that the healthcare policy of Obama's presidency has taken most of the limelight, with probably only foreign policy just overshadowing it slightly. With an unemployment rate of 9.8%, and an economy in deficit, he cannot afford to narrow his focus just in passing this bill. Although it was one of the policies which eclispsed many other perhaps more important issues, it does not mean that he must channel all of his energies into just ensuring that this bill is passed. As the President of a superpower, he must ensure a balance between all legislative activities, in order to get the USA back on track.

Just to put things into perspective, as of 2nd February 2011, a Ramussen Report found that 32% of American's felt that America was on the "right track", an increase of 3 points from last week. Therefore this means that an absolute majority of 68% felt that the country was on the "wrong track". The "right track/wrong track" perception can be used to determine a President's electability, and is increasingly used around elections by spectators. Historically, if a president does not have a majority of people who believe that the country if on the "right track", he will most likely be ousted from office at the next given opportunity, and with election around the corner, this is definitely something Obama will be wanting to work on.