As the only political professional in my family, I often get the question, “How do you think Obama is doing?” Sometimes the variation is “How’s your man Obama doing?” or “What’s Obama doing about [policy X]?” where policy X usually equals healthcare reform.

This opinion piece from the Financial Times sums up my thoughts almost perfectly. It’s written by Edward Luce, the FT’s Washington editor, about whom I know almost nothing, except that I agree with his analysis that Obama’s failed attempt at “bipartisanship” may have cost America deeply. At the heart of it:

Mr Obama’s bipartisan instincts arguably contributed to the parlous state of healthcare reform today. The most serious blow to the bill came last summer when Mr Obama allowed a small group of centrist Democratic and Republican senators to negotiate on a compromise.

The exercise robbed Mr Obama of three valuable months and ceded the initiative to people who had no prior record of fighting for healthcare reform. It also created the space for the demagogic “townhall” meetings in which the bill was depicted as a Trojan horse for socialism, euthanasia and an all-seeing federal bureaucracy. The net result? No Republican votes.

Read the rest on the Financial Times site.