I AM IN UR HEALTHCAREZ, JUSTIFYIN UR STATUS QUO WITH TRADITIONCE.

Here's an excerpt from Obama's town-hallic photo op in Rio Rancho, ostensibly on the topic of credit card reform. I like how the questioner drags the topic back to the place she wants it.

Q: . . . So many people go bankrupt using their credit cards to pay for health care. Why have they [politicians] taken single-payer off the plate? . . .

President Obama: . . . If I were starting a system from scratch, then I think that the idea of moving towards a single-payer system could very well make sense. That's the kind of system that you have in most industrialized countries around the world.

The only problem is that we're not starting from scratch. We have historically a tradition of employer-based health care. And although there are a lot of people who are not satisfied with their health care, the truth is, is that the vast majority of people currently get health care from their employers and you've got this system that's already in place. We don't want a huge disruption as we go into health care reform where suddenly we're trying to completely reinvent one-sixth of the economy.

So what I've said is, let's set up a system where if you already have health care through your employer and you're happy with it, you don't have to change doctors, you don't have to change plans -- nothing changes. If you don't have health care or you're highly unsatisfied with your health care, then let's give you choices, let's give you options, including a public plan that you could enroll in and sign up for.

Now picture President Obama in 1861, trying to sell a proposal about railroad reform or something to constituents in Rio Rancho, New Mexico territory.

Q: Setting aside railroad reform for a moment. So many humans are held as chattel by others. Why have they [politicians, you] taken abolition of slavery off the table?

President Obama: If I were starting a system from scratch, then I think that the idea of moving towards abolition of slavery could very well make sense. That's the kind of system that you have in most industrialized countries around the world.

The only problem is that we're not starting from scratch. We have historically a tradition of industry based on slave labor. And although there are a lot of people who are not satisfied with being owned, the truth is, is that the vast majority of owned people currently get bread and water and a shack from their owners, and you've got this system that's already in place. We don't want a huge disruption as we go into human-resources reform where suddenly we're trying to completely reinvent one-Nth of the economy.

Perhaps he's supposed to be the first Black President of the CSA for the purposes of this analogy? I realize this will seem offensive because slavery analogies should be "off the table" when we're talking about a Black president. I could make an analogy of Nazis using tradition to justify some aspect of their status quo if that works better for you. What kind of harmful, failed, inhumane, suck-ass tradition would you prefer as an analogy, to put you in mind of someone using tradition as an excuse to maintain their status quo?