Interesting op-ed I just came across today...

David Lazarus in SF Gate has an op-ed on Bush's position on schip expansion being considered by congress...

He opens it with a story that is within the context of the debate, so its okay to make note of it for its irony (though I'd hesitate to make it a major talking point, for those of us who support Universal health care. Maybe it should be the story that leads into major talking points...)

Democratic lawmakers in Washington say they're drafting a health care reform bill that would expand coverage for low-income kids. President Bush says he'll veto any such legislation, warning that it would lead the nation "down the path to government-run health care for every American."

Like that would be a bad thing.

What's particularly galling about Bush's position is that it's coming from a man who just underwent a colonoscopy performed at the taxpayer-funded, state-of-the-art medical facility at Camp David by an elite team of doctors from the taxpayer-funded National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

If anyone understands the benefits of government-run health care, it's the president.

then he appropriately rediricts to the important substance

The United States spent an average of $6,102 per person on health care in 2004 (the latest year for which figures are available), according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Canada spent $3,165 per person, France $3,159, Australia $3,120 and Britain a mere $2,508. Life expectancy in the United States was lower than in each of these other countries and infant mortality was higher.

Looking at the numbers another way, the Kaiser Family Foundation determined earlier this year that health care spending accounts for 15.2 percent of the U.S. economy.

By contrast, health care spending represents 9.9 percent of Canada's gross domestic product, 10.4 percent of France's, 9.2 percent of Australia's and just 7.8 percent of Britain's.

And again, the citizens of these countries on average live longer than we do.

To conclude, he jumps back into the Bush-as-recipiant of government funded health care... but I can't complain too much. Part of his job as a writer is to create a piece of work that can be entertaining as well as informative.