Hide the Ball, Part I. My friend Rufus bought a brand new motor home last month. It was a difficult process mostly because the convenient Florida dealership that had the leftover model he wanted in stock kept changing the rules. Here’s how the deal went:

“We’ll take $xx,xxx and take your older motor home in trade,” the happy salesman told Rufus over the phone. “We’ll even deliver the new one and pick up your trade.”
Rufus went off to think about it. A few days later, he called the salesman. “OK, I’ll take it.”

“Oh, The price is actually $yy,yyy [almost $1,000 more] and you’ll have to bring the trade in to us,” the friendly salesman said.

That wasn’t the original deal but Rufus went off to think about it anyway. He really wanted the motor home. A few days later, he called the salesman. “OK, I’ll take it.”

“Oh, The price is actually $zz,zzz [another $1,000 more] and we can’t include the $600 SmartVent in that price,” the superb salesman said.

That’s one way to play Hide the Ball.

Rufus decided to cut his losses in Florida. He bought the same model motor home, delivered fresh from the factory, from a dealer in another state who didn’t try to game him. He paid $xx,xxx. The happy, friendly, superb salesman in Florida wasn’t very happy was he?

Meanwhile, Biff and Missy wanted to buy a second house here in the Keys. They have worked unsuccessfully with a local Realtor™ for about a month because other buyers are snapping up distressed properties as fast as they appear on the market. Missy and Biff can be a little slow at times.

Biff finally found a place that seemed perfect. It was available.

Their buyer’s agent sent them a 29-page contract. Biff read every page. That’s a good thing.

The contract spelled out that their agent told them their perfect vacation house was on the F.E.M.A. list. The agent hadn’t told them that nor had she explained what being “on the F.E.M.A. list” means [it means the buyer might not be able to get flood insurance]. The contract spelled out that their agent told them their dream vacation house had open permits. The agent hadn’t told them that nor had she explained what “open permits” means [it means the buyer could be liable for inspection fees and fines as well as putting the property “back to original condition”].

That’s another way to play Hide the Ball.

What does this mean to We the OverTaxedPeople?

It means car dealers and house sellers are pikers at Hide the Ball compared to Congress.

Hide the Ball, Part II. Missy and Biff have also been shopping for health insurance ever since Biff got riffed. She still has her job with the state but Biff the Plumber is out of work for the first time in about 20 years. Like millions of the rest of us, Missy and Biff want to reform health care and particularly health care costs.

“Rufus’ bus dealer was more upright than those airheads in Washington,” Missy said. She didn’t actually call them “airheads.” Missy can be earthy.

The U.S. Senate completed the first hurdle to passing ObamaCare over the weekend.

The Gang of 59 bribed hold-out Senator Ben Nelson (Used Car Salesman-NE) to sign on to the Senate health care bill. They pledged that We the OverTaxedPeople will pay all of Nebraska’s Medicaid increases forever so the Congressional Demorats can roll over all opposition and steal all the snow from the entire country right before Christmas.

Can you spell G-r-i-n-c-h?

That’s alright, though, because We the OverTaxedPeople really really really want national health care and we don’t care what it costs or whom we have to bribe. Right?

An ABC News/Washington Post poll shows 37% of the public thinks the quality of care will improve for them. Wow! That’s more than a third!

On the other hand, 53% think healthcare costs will go up under the legislation now in Congress. 55% think costs will rise for the healthcare system overall.

Uh oh! Maybe we do care what it costs and whom we have to bribe.

David Axelrod says “Reality” will “trump the poll numbers…”

Uh oh! Maybe it’s just President Obama who doesn’t care what it costs and whom we have to bribe. Maybe it’s just President Obama who doesn’t care what We the OverTaxedPeople think about ObamaCare. After all President Obama (praise be his name) knows what is best for the rest of us.

The newspapers say Mr. Axelrod, a senior adviser to the president, wants to “reframe the debate.” Mr. Axelrod said ObamaCare would be popular once people learned more about it.

That’s used motor home speak for “once we find the right spin.”

Also buried in the Demorats’ package is Medicare coverage for the 1,400 victims of “environmental health hazards” the EPA declared a public health emergency last June 17. Oddly, those 1,400 people were exposed to asbestos at the W.R. Grace vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana.

Senator Max Baucus, Demorat of Montana, snuck that one in for himself because he can. He is the principal author of the health care bill. That would be the same Senator Max Baucus (Finance Committee Chair and Used Car Salesman-MT) who said that the Bush Administration “ought to know that five years’ worth of Medicare and Medicaid cuts totaling [just] $200 billion are dead on arrival with me and with most of the Congress,” way back in 2008.

The bill quietly cuts Medicare and Medicaid benefits, but not until this administration is out of office.

Another provision to expand Medicaid only in Massachusetts, Nebraska and Vermont will add $1.2 billion in costs.

“It’s all in there just like it was all in my house contract,” Biff said. “It was just hidden in all the pages of fine print that reference other pages of fine print in other contracts.”

Now, here’s the bad part.

We excoriated the arrogant Grinches in Congress for voting on this Obamanation without reading the thousands of pages. Do you really in your heart of hearts think they wouldn’t still vote “Aye” if they actually had read it?

Missy and Biff and Rufus all went to different people for their deals. I haven’t (yet) convinced the rest of us how good an idea that is.

Merry Christmas, y’all. Missy and Biff and Rufus and I all hope you have enough left on your Visa cards to pay for gifts after the 60 Grinches “borrowed” your cards to pay for theirs.