“…a clean sheet of paper” – Congressional Republicans, February 25, 2010

Compared to the unusually compelling and impromptu engagement of President Obama’s televised meeting with Republican House members in Baltimore a few weeks ago, yesterday’s seven hour health care summit was about as interesting as proofreading that 2000-plus page proposed health care reform legislation prop that GOP leaders displayed.

Much of the best analysis I have read concludes that:
* Republicans appeared to be largely reasonable, if predictably, consistently, and thoroughly unswayed.
* Through natural ability and/or his experience as a community organizer, President Obama is a pretty good facilitator-in-chief, though that may not provide him with much practical benefit in enacting health care legislation.
* That is one very thin bench for the Democrats, a point cleverly captured by The New Republic’s Jonathan Chait’s LeBron James-kids cut from the 7th grade team analogy.
* Despite Obama’s struggles, there do not appear to be many Americans saying. “If only McCain was president…” and yesterday’s events will likely fail to change that dynamic.

Of course, it remains to be seen what, if anything, this exercise might produce.  One of its contributions might be the spread of the metaphorical term for beginning anew, “…a clean sheet of paper”, which was applied several times by Republican participants to convey the belief to the president, their Democratic counterparts, and Americans watching the proceedings that work on health care legislation needs to start over.

It’s better than “blank slate”, which can connote ignorance and “fresh start”, which sounds like a detergent or personal hygiene product.  I imagine the person starting with a clean sheet of paper being very conscientious, sitting with appropriate posture at a desk–a handsome wooden one–and writing with a fountain pen.

And some people say Republicans in Congress don’t do anything for the American people.