A mid-November Gallup poll found that the public is more dissatisfied than ever with out-of-control health care costs. An overwhelming 81 percent said they are dissatisfied with the cost of health care in this country, the highest figure recorded on this question since Gallup first started asking it in 2001.

Americans are definitely ready for the government to play a significant role in solving these health care problems. In the same mid-November Gallup poll, 64 percent of respondents said that it is the responsibility of the federal government to make sure all Americans have health care coverage, compared with only 33 percent who do not.

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15325.html
Hedging on healthcare?
Posted April 24th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
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We know that both of the Democratic presidential candidates have ambitious healthcare plans. What we did not know is that congressional Dems, who expect to be in the majority next year, don’t sound especially optimistic that sweeping changes to the existing healthcare system will be possible.
It is still seven months before Election Day, but already senior Democrats are maneuvering to lower public expectations on the key policy issue.
In the back of their minds is the damage done to President Bush’s second term by his failed attempts to change the nation’s Social Security policy.
For some senators, the promises made by Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) outside of Washington may not match the political reality on Capitol Hill.
“We all know there is not enough money to do all this stuff,” said Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), a Finance Committee member and an Obama supporter, referring to the presidential candidates’ healthcare plans. “What they are doing is … laying out their ambitions.”
Sen. Chuck Schumer (RD-N.Y.), part of the Senate Democratic leadership and a member of the Finance Committee, said, “Healthcare I feel strongly about, but I am not sure that we’re ready for a major national healthcare plan.” Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.), who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, said “the money is not necessarily there right now.”

Jonathan Cohn noted:

For the last year, momentum for universal health care has been building. Most of the Democratic presidential candidates have endorsed the idea, at least in principle; Senator Ron Wyden has been building a bipartisan coalition behind his proposal; a wide array of interest groups have been agitating for it, if not for the sake of social justice than for the sake of cutting down on the cost of employee benefits; and polls show the public supports universal coverage at levels not seen since the early 1990s. […]
Still, this isn’t the last word on the subject. I just got off the phone with Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, who in recent years has done as much to promote the cause of universal coverage as any single person in politics. And he is not at all happy.
“I thought it was embarrassing,” Stern said. “I think it showed an incredible lack of appreciation for what most Americans are confronting every day in this health care system. … What was said in this article is not the kind of leadership that I think Americans are expecting after this election.”

McCains flip flops such as his ex wife the Bush tax cuts, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, judges and Roe v. Wade, ethanol, and not least of all, torture.

McCain Argues for U.S. Troop Withdrawl from Somalia youtube.com/watch?v=o8TFKXHiefs He made a similar Senate Floor Speech about Haiti. …

McCain a veteran doesn’t want vet to get the GI bill they deserve
Webb calls out McCain on G.I. bill comments
The two senators, both veterans, are sparring over increased education benefits for soldiers.
Wednesday, Apr 30, 2008 23:44

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