Health Care

Here is a story on American Prospect by Ezra Klein. Supposed to be about Hillary but seems to be more about Edwards. He says we have Edwards to thank for getting Obama and Hillary to come out with health insurance plans as far towards universal coverage as they have. Without him they would have been much more timid. One of the reasons I support Edwards:

Edwards was perhaps an unlikely candidate to push the health care conversation forward. In 2004, his primary campaign released a plan that didn't even pretend to cover every America -- it sought little more than coverage for kids. But freed from the (partly self-imposed) strictures of his 2004 role as the southern moderate, Edwards' 2008 campaign has been far bolder in its policy. Exhibit A is his health care plan, released long before that of any other major candidate, which achieves full coverage, offers a public insurance option, regulates the insurers, and much more. It is easily the most impressive health care reform proposal adopted by a national Democrat in 15 years.

I saw him speak about health care at one of the debates and he was very passionate about it and seems to really understand what the problems are and the cost in money, suffering and lives with our current health care system. How much any candidate can do remains to be seen, I think a lot of that will depend on how many Democrats get elected to congress.