TAKE AWAY HIS PLANE, PARK IT, TAKE THE WINGS OFF – AT 7:08 P.M. ET:  The Democrats are once more griping about the president's travel plans.  This is a crisis of epic proportions:

The White House has been bringing its A game to the final push to pass health care reform – and some House Democrats are so pleased with the shift they want President Barack Obama to postpone his planned Asia trip again if a deal isn’t sealed before his newly announced departure on Sunday.

We just need daddy around to help us.  What's wrong with that?

Several House members interviewed by POLITICO said Obama’s looming trip to Australia, Indonesia and Guam, while creating a natural deadline for 11th-hour health care talks, is once again becoming a problem as he tries to sell reluctant members of his own party on the reform legislation.

Last week, the president pushed back his planned Friday departure three days after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats groused he was leaving at a critical time.

“For the first time in eight months, the president is finally getting his hands dirty, and now he’s going to hop on the plane? Please,” said a Democratic congressman, requesting anonymity.

I've got it!  Obama can cancel his trip, claiming Air Force One is plagued by unintended acceleration problems, and the backup plane isn't stocked with current DVDs.  He can explain this to Indonesia – he speaks the language, after all – and to Australia, which, I suspect, can do without The One's visit.

“These deadlines are sort of silly,” the member added. “Remember the first one? March 18th? That was sort of like putting a calendar on [White House chief of staff] Rahm's [Emanuel’s] back and inviting members to throw darts at him.”

Another Democrat told POLITICO bluntly, “This trip is really getting in the way of things.”

COMMENT:  Translated:  We don't have the votes, we really don't want to try Nancy's convoluted gimmicks, and we sure don't want to go home for Easter and face our constitutents.

Complaining about the president's trip surely doesn't give America confidence that the Congressional leadership is truly in control.

March 16,  2010