For the past year, President Barack Obama has invested a huge amount of his political capital to get the health care bill passed.

The Democrats are calling it a victory; the Republicans calling it an American disaster. For now, the notion of an "United States of America" is a matter of opinion. For Democrats, the president has delivered on one of his many campaign promises. For the Republicans, they've moved a step closer to locking arms with the Tea Party to rally against "Big Government" and government intrusion in our lives.  

What's unsettling is that GOP has now established itself as the party of "no". And worst, it has now been directly linked to racist, uncivil, un-American behavior.  How ironic? Isn't the Party's vitriolic behavior the same type they accused those critical of President George W. Bush?  Looks like they've forgotten those days, and have decided that sound bites, bumper-sticker slogans and fact-less criticism of the health care bill will move this country forward.

What the president needs to do now is invite the Republican leadership to meet with him in the White House to share their concerns.  How can Ohio Congressman John Boehner say that the bill is the result of "back room deals" when he sat in the session with the president for the famous summit about a month ago?  Of course, Boehner's use of this term - "back door politics" - is an oxymoron for Capitol Hill politics. That's how deals get done, no? 

For Obama and his loyal supporters, now is the time to have take to the streets city by city, arming congressmen, civic and business leaders with a consistent set of talking points that celebrate the success, but also provide specific examples of how this bill will affect individuals and companies.

So, now the stage is now set for the 2010 and 2012 elections.  Brace yourselves for what could be a very divisive time in this country where the president will be pressed to remind the nation of the need to respect each other while still engaging in a spirited democratic process.