On the day before Thanksgiving, controversial health wonk Donald Berwick tendered his resignation as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. "It's unfortunate that a small group of senators obstructed his nomination, putting political interests above the best interests of the American people," said deputy White House press secretary Jamie Smith. "One of [health care's] most distinguished leaders and voices got mugged by partisan Republicans who know better and who got away with it," wrote John McDonough of the Boston Globe. Berwick, however, wasn't done in by Republican intransigence. He was done in by presidential cowardice. And therein lies a microcosm of everything that's been wrong with Obamacare.
