Healthcare

The whole health insurance debate is finally getting going, thank the Lord.
During the presidential campaign, John Edwards (yeah, I know, he's a douche) proposed allowing people to enroll in Medicare/Medicaid if they didn't like their private insurer options. Pres. Obama kinda, sorta latched on to the idea as the campaign progressed.
The genius of this proposal is that it would give the working poor access to affordable coverage and pressure private insurers to lower their rates and improve coverage. It is a tentative first step toward single payer, which is where we are headed anyway.
Conservative Democrats are once again trying to have their cake and eat it, too. They want to make the Medicare/Medicaid option a last resort, only after private insurers get several more years to prove how much they don't care about people getting decent medical care. Their plan is to use Obama's wild popularity to raise money and get re-elected, all while continuing to do the bidding of K Street lobbyists who wine and dine them and get them laid.
It looks like Obama is going to shut the door on that move. As I've said many times before, this guy knows he's in charge. He's jumping into the debate very early on to disabuse the aforementioned conservative Dems that they will get to milk K Street by screwing the rest of us again.
At least I hope that is what he is doing.