What kind of leadership: The worst is fake consensus

It's a great concern that President Obama has put real reform of our health services industry on the back burner while treating the issue as a checklist, a "was something done that I can present to the American people" standard such as the meaningless yet costly confirmation of SCHIP and Obama's efforts on his pet project of technology for health records at supposed savings that have no assurances that those savings will be passed onto consumers. These "actions" are really distractions from the core problems of decades of legislation in response to the lobbying efforts of the big businesses of insurance and physicians. So what's wrong with a few seemingly benign actions?

This kind of leadership that promises big, pretends to be interested in everyone's opinion and then does exactly what it intended to do as its pet project to begin with (originally technology was only one aspect of the "reform" plan, now it is the plan)only works until people realize that consensus, consultation, and cooperation are pro forma steps taken by an individual who has already made up his mind.

The difficulty with this approach is that Obama risks losing credibility with the American people early on. He should've just come clean but he did not. He promised immediate action that would enable citizens to enjoy the same health benefits he and his family enjoy. Instead, after one week in office, he returns to his technology plan that promises vague savings that will not be passed onto consumers and that will take five years.

At this point, America is watching. A salary freeze after recent salary increases is for show. No job cuts at the governmental level? No loss of benefits for governmental workers? No mandatory furlough for government workers? It is too early for Obama to show his hand as a soft spoken version of the egoism that was George Bush's demise.

Real action is hard and is beyond poetry and inspiration. Obama must show that he has not forgotten those who so recently put him in office based on promises for health services reform.