Grade: A+
"Fellow Times Readers: This one may be injurious to your health! This was a historic week for President Obama.
"Few presidents can claim to have passed major reform legislation and this one will make it into seventh-grade social-studies textbooks. In fact, if we look at the past 100 years, there have been only nine years that have been categorized as major reform years: 1912-1913, 1933-1936, and 1964-1965. It is not a question of whether we like or dislike the legislation, it is that issues were addressed and passed. Firestorms spread in all those years, as they did following President Reagan's budget and the Supreme Court ratification of the election of George W. Bush. The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is one of those singular events.
"Of course, there is now an election and the voters will get to decide if this is what they want or not. Thus far, the highest intensity has been with the opposition. It will now be Mr. Obama's opportunity (or burden) to create a high level of intensity in support of what has been done by his administration, a majority of Congress, and a decision by the Supreme Court. This will be a dramatic issue in a very dramatic election. But for now, this week, the president is winning."
Last week's grade: B