The Nation: MIA on Healthcare [View All]

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090525/lieberman?rel=rightsideaccordian

It should come as no surprise that Barack Obama does not support a national health insurance system like most other countries have. He made that clear during the campaign. What is surprising is that he has been so vague about exactly what kind of healthcare reform he has in mind.

Aside from saying he supports a public plan, the president hasn't gotten his hands dirty in the political muck. Is he pursuing a conscious strategy to be above the fray or waiting to see what Congress does before jumping in? Is the president being strategically vague or abdicating to Congress because he, too, is feeling the heat from the special interests that contributed millions to his campaign?

Campaign rhetoric led the electorate to believe that a new president was ready to overhaul the healthcare system and bring health coverage to everyone. Obama must level with Americans who still believe that everyone will be covered automatically once his healthcare reforms are enacted.

If Obama wants to give more than lip service to a public plan, he should offer guidance on how it will work.