Those four words have come to epitomize compromise in our society. "Hey," these words say. "Quit whining. You're just lucky to get anything at all." It's the pathetic lament of the defeated. And lately I’ve been coming across this lament more and more often in the various online discussions and news stories analyzing the health care reform bills coming out of Congress.

Wait a minute. Weren’t we going to get real reform this time? Wasn’t President Obama going to ride the wave of his big electoral victory and fix this country’s health care crisis? Surely this was one thing that we could all agree on—that when it came to our broken health insurance system, it was clearly time for Change We Can Believe In. Right?

Maybe not.

The grand rhetoric of Obama’s campaign speeches and the euphoria of his victory (was it really only a year ago?) are fading memories now. With congressional Republicans screaming like two-year-olds every time Obama opens his mouth, it’s been a rough road for the new guy in Washington. His appeals for bipartisanship have gone unanswered, his proposals met with skepticism. His public support has ebbed as the months have gone by without much in the way of significant accomplishments (something “Saturday Night Live” had great fun with in this skit).

Nowhere is this situation more apparent than with the ongoing cage match over fixing our broken health care system. It seems like Obama and the Dems have been playing defense since this battle broke out, whether it’s about the so-called death panels, illegal immigrants accessing health care, federal funding of abortion, or the “socialist” boogeyman. With every step backward, the chances for meaningful reform just got smaller. Right now they’re about as miniscule as the likelihood that Obama will be attending the Limbaugh family’s annual Christmas party.

After months of wrangling, Democrats are currently celebrating their big win in getting a bill passed in the House over the weekend. After some major last-minute concessions on abortion, the measure finally passed by five votes. Five. In a chamber where Democrats outnumber Republicans, 258-177.

The bill itself is no prize. Desperate to get something passed, the Democrats watered down the public option, which was the big symbol of reform that Obama had been trumpeting. And with an even tougher battle looming in the Senate, the final bill might not even contain that.

However, the thinking goes, as long as something is eventually signed into law on health care, Obama can claim a symbolic (Pyrrhic?) victory. This will theoretically boost his approval numbers and help the Dems who are up for re-election in 2010.

Which brings us back to the original question, is something really better than nothing? Since this is about health care, let’s ask a doctor to weigh in. In this article from Huffington Post, Dr. Marcia Angell is unequivocal. “Is the House bill better than nothing? I don't think so," she writes. "It simply throws more money into a dysfunctional and unsustainable system.”

Something to think about, isn’t it?