Having Your Pandemic And Eating It Too

Despite the fact that Republicans in Congress voted against H1N1 vaccine funding and the repeated bromide that Obama was unduly panicking the country by focusing on it, conservatives are now attacking the Obama administration for not doing enough on H1N1 by taking out national ad buys.

American Future Fund, one of the constellation of conservative independent media funds, is going up with this ad tying flu vaccine shortages to President Obama's health care plan.

It's a volatile issue that most Republicans have tiptoed around amid accusations of playing poltics with public health, and the long-term power of the issue will depend largely on how bad the flu is this season -- something beyond anyone's control.

But the vaccine shortages are currently a source of major jitters, and the ad -- which the Standard reports has "significant money" behind it -- aims at at a real emotional chord.

Which is funny, because Republicans all but ignored H1N1 all during the Bush years, saying it wasn't a problem.

Now it's Obama's Katrina of the Week.

[UPDATE 1:47 PM] Of course, what vaccine is out there is going to our most important citizens first here in America, like Goldman Sachs executives.