Barack Obama's Health Plan 2

It seems a lot of people who read what I wrote about Barack Obama's health plan (and by a lot of people I mean pretty much everyone who read it) disagreed with how I characterized the plan.
So I went back to check my facts and see if I was wrong, and trust me I hoped I was wrong. I would love to know that he wants universal health care for everyone. THat would be great. But so I went on his website, and there I found this 15 page pdf file (http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/HealthPlanFull.pdf) that was the material that the Obama campaign circulates regarding its health plan.
I looked at the first bullet point -- "OBAMA’S PLAN TO COVER THE UNINSURED". Uh-oh. Maybe I was wrong. I kept on reading to see exactly what it said.

"Obama will make available a new national health plan which will give individuals the choice to buy affordable health coverage that is similar to the plan available to federal employees"

That sentence makes me think I was right. "give induviduals the choice to buy affordable health coverage" is not universal health coverage. I think the plan is being passed of as a universal health coverage plan cause it sounds a lot better than lets make health care cheaper.

I will say I was wrong about one thing. The fourth bullet point was "MANDATORY COVERAGE OF CHILDREN" and goes on to state that "Obama will require that all children have health care coverage."

But look at the difference in langugae. Obama "WILL MAKE AVALABILE" to Obama "WILL REQUIRE." I think we can definatley say that Obama is not promising universal healt care for everyone, but rather making it affordable for everyone. That is an admirable goal, but I for one wish he would go just a little bit further.

A Fred Thompson Candidacy?

News has spread about Fred Thompson forming a presidential committe, the first step in exploring a bid to the white house. What chance does he have at winning the Republican Nomination? Well thats a very interesting question.

In the latest Gallup Poll (http://www.galluppoll.com/content/default.aspx?ci=17785), Thompson was polling at 12% without even formally entering the race. Thats above, but within the margin, of Mitt Romney. Romney spent nearly $12 million dollars. Thompson hasn't spent anything. Thats really very impressive.

Name Recognition is also a key part of Thompson's chances to win the nomination. Thompson is a character on Law and Order, as basically every single article has mentioned. Even before taking this first step at a presidential bid, Thompson was being written about by Political writers at the NY Times and the Washington Post as a possible conservative candidate. He was appointed by President Bush to guide the nomination of John Roberts. So hes stayed active in politics, and the media was covering his campagin before it even existed.

Finally, his idealogical stance would be key to him winning the Republican Nomination. These is a void this year in the Republican Presidental Candidates. Both Giuliani and McCain (even though hes really trying to hid it now) are moderate Republicans. Mitt Romney used to be a moderate republican, but he reversed his ideas sometime within the past five years. Plus, no matter how valid this point is, a lot of people will not vote for him because he is a Mormon. Kennedy was said to have solved the religious question among presidential candidates, but Mormonism is seen by many as a fringe religion.

There is a hole to fill here. If Thompson campaigns as basically a sucessor to Bush, as the standard bearer for the Right, he might have a very good chance of winning. He has all these things before he even started running his campaign. After declaring, make a few speechs, and getting a lot more coverage from everyone in the media, Thompson will really see where he is.

I know I'll be paying attention to this.