do politics ever catch up?

Article in the NY Times today: “Obama Calls for ‘Up or Down’ Vote on Health Care Bill.”  The last quote in this article particularly struck me.  Robert Gibbs, Obama’s press secretary, says that “the president has always subscribed to the notion that the politics will catch up.”

What does this mean, especially in this situation?  That the notion of maintaining public health will finally stake its claim in this country’s politics?  Obama tried his hardest to “reach across both sides of the aisle” and create a truly bi-partisan bill, but it seems that now, he is just struggling to get a simple majority amongst his own party members.

This is complicated.  My idealism tries to tell me that of course all of the representatives in this country would want their citizens to be well.  However, this is not taking into account all the different push-and-pull factors for many of our politicians.  Is it a question of priority?  Is it just a question of class?  Can we ever count on our politicians to just do the “right” thing?  And, as some argue, can the American people do the right thing?  Is this what we all want?  Where are our priorities?

Does a person like me, who is denied insurance coverage under this system, (or, well, i could pay $6000 a year to get it) matter?  My guess is that i am not the only one in this situation.  Do any of us sickies matter?