SCHOEN'S SONG. Whining about the inadequacy of Democratic consultants isn't exactly cutting edge commentary, but Doug Schoen's op-ed -- which I examine in great detail here -- is remarkable. All the more so because Schoen is no nameless strategist. He was a top Clinton guy, then -- tellingly -- a driving force behind Michael Bloomberg's Republican mayoral candidacy. His partner, Mark Penn, is arguably Hillary Clinton's closest advisor. And yet here he is, writing about how Democrats need to preemptively compromise on health care and embrace bipartisanship, misrepresenting the polls and the facts to make the Democratic position look weaker than it is and the Republicans more moderate than they are. And fine, I get it: Schoen is a consultant first and a pollster second. His role in life is to make his numbers fit his product, which is bipartisanship and incrementalism. But who is the Republican Doug Schoen? Where's the Republican consultant writing op-eds saying "Look guys, according to the most recent New York Times poll, the public favors the Democrats on health care by 62% to 19%. 90% say the system needs either fundamental changes or wholesale restructuring. 81% say they're dissatisfied with the cost of health care. We've got to get out of the way on this one and get behind something popular." Instead, you've got Schoen, whose ostensible party enjoys a 43% advantage on the issue, advising that "[Americans] want to see healthcare needs and issues addressed in a spirit of partnership, not partisanship" and "[h]ealthcare should not become a partisan issue." Was it not a partisan issue in 1994, when Republicans choked out the Clinton plan and Dole voted against his own compromise bills? Or should it just not be a partisan issue now? And why is it that we've got the advisors of the party with a clear olead on this issue counseling compromise, while the party that's far behind in the polls sees no reason to reach out? --Ezra Klein
