I admire President Barack Obama. The man took on a presidency that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Like many black football coaches who are forced to take over teams after a horrible losing season, our first black president walked into two nasty wars and a really funky economy. But with the swag of an idealistic superstar, President Obama has boldly chosen to face the demon of health care reform.

This battle should not be underestimated in its significance, for it has crushed many politicians under the weight of massive bureaucracy. I was personally shocked that the president took on this issue after piling up another trillion in debt trying to spend our country's way out of economic devastation. But you can't really blame him for trying to fix this broken system. Leaving it the way it is would be a surefire path to an even greater disaster.

The problem is that there are at least four obstacles to the president's bid to do the impossible, and I am not sure he can find a way around them. The truth, however, is that he is in it with both feet. The great health care adventure reminds me of when my daughter and I got to the top of a really scary roller coaster. Once we were in the car with our seat belts strapped, there was no turning back.

Four of the health care hurdles and questions that hurt our dear president's chances can be laid out as follows:

1) What are hospitals and pharmaceutical companies going to contribute? I am a bit confused about why I haven't heard much conversation about how we are going to deal with the massive drug dealers who push expensive dope on us in every other TV commercial. Why in the heck does it cost $100 for a pill in the United States that costs $5 in Canada, and why are there laws stating that I can't go to Canada to buy the cheaper drug? Why does one visit to the emergency room cost several hundred (or even several thousand) dollars? Can someone please justify these costs to me? I am willing to bet that holding big drug companies accountable would solve 40 percent of our health care cost problems in one swoop. I am also willing to bet that there is a reason that President Obama has not criticized these companies very much in public.

Dr. Elaina George, a prominent Atlanta physician who went to college with Michelle Obama at Princeton, had this to say, "I already had reservations about whether we would get true reform when the very members of Congress who were tasked to lead the crafting of the bill had received hundreds of thousand of dollars from the very entities that were the major cause of the problem – the health insurance industry, big pharma and for-profit hospitals."

2) The professor, the policeman and the "beer summit." Please tell me if I am dreaming...did the president just waste a critical week of his valuable time dealing with a controversy between a professor and a cop? Did he burn tons of political capital with working-class Americans by speaking on a controversy without knowing the facts? Okay, so now the president is paralyzed on issues of race, since he used one of his scarce racial plays to defend his Harvard homeboy. He also lost of a great deal of public support during one of the most critical periods of his administration. I am admittedly disappointed that President Obama made such a huge mistake.

3) Lies, damn Republican lies. As Dr. Wilmer Leon, a political scientist at Howard University, correctly points out, "The opponents to health care reform, particularly those opposed to the Obama administration's plan, are taking control of the public debate by force, distortions and partisan politics. They are changing the debate on health care into a debate on health care for illegal immigrants, abortion and other wedge issues."

Dr. Leon also reminds us that Sarah Palin (the "brilliant" woman who ran for vice president and didn't know that Africa was a continent) has called Obama's health care plan "evil" and stated that Obama is going to create a "death panel" to deny care to the neediest Americans. Rush Limbaugh (the overweight guy who was once hooked on one of the drugs being pushed by big pharmaceutical companies) has compared President Obama to Adolf Hitler. Wow, Barack, I didn't see the "Death Panel Nazi Extermination Provision" in your health care plan. Perhaps I missed that one.

The health care debate has led us to an all-time low of right-wing lunacy. If only we could find a way to have a meaningful and intelligent debate without people referring to Hitler and death panels, our country might actually make some progress. But then again, there is almost never anything intelligent about American politics.

4) Details, Mr. President, details. As I watched Obama's stellar press conference on health care (well, it was stellar until the last five minutes), I was constantly fishing for details. The problem was that I couldn't find any. I did my research -- no details. I asked experts -- no details. Where's the beef, Barack? I need to know how that this is going to work. While the words "higher quality at a lower cost" sound really good, I need to understand exactly how this is going to be done. But then again, who can blame the president for being a bit elusive? With the ridiculous tactics being used by his opponents, you must sometimes fight silliness with more convincing silliness. The bottom line is that Democrats are running our government right now, and Republican temper tantrums aren't going to make a bit of difference. President Obama knows this, and that's why Republicans are behaving like common thugs.

Squashing the many viruses in the path of true health care reform is going to take time, effort and determination. We've wasted energy and thrown away some political leverage, but perhaps we can get this done. The question that must be asked, however, is whether this version of reform is the right one for America. I am not yet sure it is.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a distinguished scholar with the Barbara Jordan Institute for Policy Research at Texas Southern University. To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here.