The heated debate on the national health care plan being pushed by President Obama and the consequences of the significant drop in Obama’s own popularity or approval seem to be setting the stage for some serious, contentious and ugly scenes in Washington and throughout the country.

Obama called for “change” and made “change” the hallmark of his presidential campaign and his administration. He promised all kinds of great-sounding changes: total transparency in all Washington dealings, no lobbyists involved in his administration, no longer calling the situations in Iraq or Afghanistan “wars,” no mention of “terrorists.”

He said his stimulus plans would put a ceiling on this nation’s number of jobless and that the public would be given several weeks to study and learn about major legislation before it was considered by Congress. He made pledges about this nation’s debt, and on and on.

Now, just 10 months after his election and approximately eight months after moving into office, many, if not all, the “changes” are turning out to be the usual campaign rhetoric to win votes. Many of the “changes” Obama intends to jam down the throats of Americans are opposed by growing numbers of angry citizens.

Those in the Obama camp believed the election of their champion marked the beginning of a new, shining, squeaky-clean administration. The hated Bush administration was gone, and the public was ready for the eloquent-speaking former Chicago neighborhood organizer to work his magic.

It hasn’t worked out that way and, consequently, those in the Obama camp are angry and accusing those who oppose Obama of being un-American, using fear tactics and being puppets for those whose only goal is to see Obama defeated and disgraced.

Seldom, if ever, has a U.S. president made such an effort to get his prized legislation passed by Congress. Obama has made more national addresses in his first few months in office than the previous president made in his eight years in the White House. Even senior Democrats have said he has been overexposed.

Next week, Obama will deliver a speech to all the nation’s schoolchildren. Original plans called for many facets of the presentation to be not-too-subtle suggestions that these millions of students should support his legislative agenda and give study to what Obama’s goals should be. There was so much anger and public uproar about this that Obama officials now say the president will change some of his original plans for the student address. The whole thing looks like something we might read about Castro trying to do in Cuba.

It seems Obama comes out with a new plan, a more costly plan, every week, costly in terms of dollars and cents and costly in terms of the freedoms being infringed upon.

The president has appointed a number of “czars,” individuals who assume executive positions in many facets of our nation’s basic activities. And yet, none of these people are screened or approved by Congress.

In recent weeks, there has been closer examination of the backgrounds, activities and beliefs of many of those who have been given a czarship. It is shocking that Obama would place these types of individuals in such powerful positions, answerable only to the president.

The combination of the opposition and anger to Obama’s health care plan, exposed at the many town hall meetings during August, and anger over many other changes Obama is championing, along with the huge national debt, his constantly changing guidelines about who will or will not pay more or less taxes, the types of individuals he has named as czars, the takeover of private business, the regulation of what salaries will be allowed in some businesses, the effort to indoctrinate school-age children, the growing number of unemployed and the general, nationwide sense of frustration, anger, hopelessness and disappointment, all combine to create a dangerous, combustible environment.

Emotions are high, and it is incumbent on those in leadership positions to do whatever they can to keep the scene from becoming ugly.

People certainly have the right to speak out and voice their opposition to what a president — Obama or some future president — may espouse, but there must be civility. Likewise, the president should be sensitive and not try to force legislation or curtail freedoms this nation and its people have enjoyed for decades. Obama should temper his arrogance and soften the signals that he thinks he can do whatever he wants, regardless of the consequences for others.

The mood, activity, actions and scene in Washington next week, when Congress gets back to work and when the Obama machine renews its efforts to jam the president’s “changes” through Congress, and when the president makes another national address to a joint session of Congress all will provide a good barometer of whether there can be any sense or practice of bipartisanship (another Obama pledge) or it will be ugly, mean and dangerous politics as usual.