Malia and Sasha Obama have not been vaccinated against the H1N1 flu virus.  White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says the vaccine is not available to them based on their risk.

Currently, only children with chronic medical conditions whose immune systems are not strong enough to fight off the virus are being vaccinated. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that children from 6 months to 18 years of age get the H1N1 vaccination. 

For many parents the biggest drawback to getting the vaccination is the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal, which has been used in vaccines and other products since the 1930s.

The H1N1 vaccine can include thimerosal, but the CDC insists that there is no scientific evidence to suggest that the preservative in low doses causes anything except for redness and swelling at the injection site.

The CDC also insists that no link between thimerosal and autism has been proven scientifically, a conclusion widely disputed by the National Autism Association and other non-profit organizations.

School systems have been notifying parents to return consent forms quickly for their child to receive an H1N1 vaccination during school clinics. Students will be able to get the vaccine unless they have underlying medical problems.

The CDC wants the public to know that a regular seasonal flu shot will not protect against the H1N1 virus.

Will Brother O subject his own children to the “benefits” of the H1N1 vaccine, or will he follow in the footsteps of committee Democrats, who exempted themselves from enrollment in the public option, and go on to opt out his kids from taking the vaccine while promoting it as beneficial for average Americans?

Time will tell.

Now that it’s been discovered that Medicare’s denial rate is roughly 1.7 times that of the top private carriers combined, will the AMA and Brother O’s “cherry picked” medical practitioners continue to sacrifice what’s left of their professional integrity and creditability to promote a government-run health care system that is more likely to deny patient care than administer it?

Supporters of ObamaCare’s public option parrot bromides damning private insurance companies for denying claims and canceling coverage.

“We are held hostage at any given moment by health insurance companies that deny coverage or drop coverage or charge fees that people can’t afford,” Brother O said in August.

Brother O neglected to mention that the worst offender is the oft touted government model, Medicare. The American Medical Association (AMA) and Brother O’s cherry-picked medical professionals endorse the public option because, like Medicare, it would be a better provider for patients when it comes to decision-making autonomy and the ability to get patients the care they need.

Beverly Gossage, Research Fellow for Show-Me Institute and founder of HSA Benefits Consulting, discovered in the AMA’s 2008 National Health Insurer Report Card that Medicare is most likely to reject a claim, denying 6.85 percent or 475,566 claims, which is more than the seven top commercial health insurers and is double their average.

Gossage’s findings mean the AMA, the cherry-picked medical professionals, and the ObamaCare supporters have endorsed a plan “whose closest existing example is the most frequent denier of claims.”

In television ads and news releases, supporters of ObamaCare have shamelessly portrayed insurance companies as insensitive greedy louts with itchy fingers on hair triggers willingly to deny claims for wealth. 

Will the shameless supporters of ObamaCare now portray the government-run insurer Medicare as a cold-blooded bunch of bookkeepers and bureaucrats? The cows will be home long before such a portrayal happens.

Reserve your seats because this is going to be sold out soon! Jake Tapper is reporting about the early skirmishes of the coming Dem dog fight, or should we call it a “French poodle fight” because we are talking about wimpy Dems:

“We Have a Tire Track On Our Chest”: President Obama Faces Possible Rebellion of House Democrats

The president’s liberal allies on health care reform have a message for the president: Don’t think you can drop the public option without a fight.

“If the president thinks we’re gonna get the votes without the public option, he’s got another think coming,” Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-NY, told ABC News.

“That won’t pass the House.”

So what happened to that united party that couldn’t wait to govern?

First, they were not united. They just hated Bush, like they once hated the other Bush, Reagan, Ford, Nixon and Eisenhower. The Dems are always united out of power. They can’t come together when the bell rings and they have to start moving the ball.

Second, most Dems did not know who BO was. They voted for change but did not know who the “change agent” was. How in the world can any rational person invest his/her hopes and dreams in someone who had no resume, except that he wrote two books about himself.

Enjoy it! I will enjoy this fight quite a bit!

In the meantime, Dems in competitive districts are staring to panic a bit: Republicans Now Ahead By Five on Generic Ballot!

The Dems have announced that they are through trying to compromise on health care legislation. The Drudge Report broke the story yesterday with this simple presentation:

OWN IT!

We get more details from The New York Times — Democrats Seem Set to Go It Alone on a Health Care Bill:

Given hardening Republican opposition to Congressional health care proposals, Democrats now say they see little chance of the minority’s cooperation in approving any overhaul, and are increasingly focused on drawing support for a final plan from within their own ranks.

Top Democrats said Tuesday that their go-it-alone view was being shaped by what they saw as Republicans’ purposely strident tone against health care legislation during this month’s Congressional recess, as well as remarks by leading Republicans that current proposals were flawed beyond repair….

The Democratic shift may not make producing a final bill much easier. The party must still reconcile the views of moderate and conservative Democrats worried about the cost and scope of the legislation with those of more liberal lawmakers determined to win a government-run insurance option to compete with private insurers.

On the other hand, such a change could alter the dynamic of talks surrounding health care legislation, and even change the substance of a final bill. With no need to negotiate with Republicans, Democrats might be better able to move more quickly, relying on their large majorities in both houses….

Over at STOP THE ACLU blog, John Stephenson sees the political positives for Republicans — Democrats Plan to Go It Alone on Healthcare Bill:

Bottom line is the Democrats never needed us to pass this monster anyway. They have the votes … they just want to be able to share the blame when this blows up… and it will. But, they will have to wear this one around their neck. They will own it, and it will fail. They won’t be able to blame Bush. Welcome to one party mob rule, folks! If they do this, I think they’ll try to keep the public option.

Here is some rope, liberals … go do what you do best with it…. Will they really shoot their own foot like this? The American people have rejected this, so will the Democrats really try to force it down their throat? Wouldn’t this be political suicide?….

At Hot Air, ALLAHPUNDIT also evaluates the political dynamics:

…. this can only mean that they’re going to go all out for the public option and use “reconciliation” if need be to nuke the filibuster in the Senate, no? Why cut the GOP out of negotiations only to settle for some watered-down alternative like co-ops? If you’re going to kick the minority party out of the room and anger half the country, you might as well make the bill as syrupy sweet to your own side as possible…. …it’s pointless for The One to keep making concessions. He might as well get the bill he wants, paint the GOP as “the party of no”, and hope that the inevitable ill effects of his program don’t appear before the midterms….

Thus did a party that no longer has enough Senate seats to pull a filibuster somehow become an obstructionist, utopia-destroying leviathan. Belated exit question: Is this all just a ruse by The One to put pressure on the Blue Dogs to accept a public option? Symbolically kicking the GOP out of the negotiations leaves the media free to focus on conservative Democrats as the true stumbling block to universal health care. Ironically, the “go it alone” move may be aimed more at his own side than at the GOP.

And at MacsMind, MacRanger is even more sure this is political disaster for the Dems — Get Ready – Democrats are About to Commit Political Suicide:

This in spite of the fact that Americans have rejected Obamacare, nevertheless Dem leaders want to force it down their throat…. Already predictions are coming in of a 1994 style sweep in 2010.

And there’s more good news for Republicans from an NBC news poll — Americans still skeptical about Obama’s plans:

After several weeks of raucous public discussion over health care reform, an exclusive NBC News poll released Tuesday suggests the debates have been detrimental to Obama’s popularity.

How sweet it is!