Super Tuesday, a day of Presidential Primaries across our land is only three weeks away. My readers know I believe healthcare to be a pivotal issue in the selection of a candidate for each party. It is time to put my views on paper. Understand that I evaluate candidates from several angles including abortion, immigration and of course, national security. However, at the end of the day, healthcare tips the balance.

On the Republican side, I tip my hat to John McCain. Some characterize him as a “moderate” Repbulican, others as a “conservative” Democrat. I believe he is an honorable American hero who has spent time thinking through his answers to issues and has enough time in the trenches of politics in Washington to know what works and what does not. He is not a “Johnny-come-lately” to the political process, nor is he merely a rehash of the same-old-thing.

On healthcare, he supports importation of cheaper prescriptions from outside the USA breaking the monopolistic strangle hold big pharma has on the drug market. McCain is also a champion of healthcare delivery initiatives designed to lower the cost and increase availability of healthcare to Americans of all socio-economic strata. Last, he has proposed a tax-break to address the current bias toward employer sponsored healthcare plans. You can read an excellent article detailing the major candidate’s stances here.

On the Democratic side, Barak Obama gets the nod. Obama’s profile as a candidate of “change” who wants to transcend the partisan battles of the past appears to be attracting support from large numbers of people, including young people, who had not been involved in politics before. In truth, little of substance separated Obama and Hillary Clinton. However, Obama’s positions are more freshly skinned and his credibility mostly intact unlike the former First Lady. He can only be characterized as liberal in his politics and unacceptable on the issues that matter to me, but he has thought through the healthcare piece.

Obama’s plan does not mandate insurance coverage. Instead, he wants to make care more affordable without telling individuals how to spend their money. He agrees that patients should be able to purchase medications from overseas. Obama’s goal is to expand coverage while still allowing significant choice. It is far away from advocating nationalized healthcare ala’ John Edwards. His plan is epxensive and would surely lead to a tax increase agree most economists. Read a comparison of Democratic plans here.

Tags: Election '08

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 17th, 2008 at 9:02 am and is filed under Potpourri. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.