Disappointed in Obama? Guess Who Else Is...

(Quick programming note:  Have you submitted your question yet for next week’s debate between representatives of Physicians for a National Health Program and Health Care for America Now?  If not, uh, could ya?)

Although yesterday was an encouraging moment for many proponents of universal health care, and the general bonhomie of the White House summit on health care made all the news reports, the event left many feeling as wary or outright pessimistic as ever.  However, as befitting a country as politically divided as this one still is, they're on opposite ends of the spectrum on why they’re discouraged.

There’ve been a handful of emails today and a few comments on the blog over the past week very discouraged at the short shrift given to a single-payer solution by the president.  It can’t really be that big of a surprise, as Obama just spent two years campaigning on the issue of health care and pointedly refusing to embrace single-payer every step of the way.  He had nice things to say about it, sure.  But... there was always a but.  His plan for universal health care was always different, and he let everyone know it at forums, in debates, in town halls when the question inevitably came up.  Still, there were concerns that no single-payer representatives were even invited until very late in the game.  And once the forum was underway, listening to the president graciously projecting “I’m willing to negotiate” to the opposition, while clearly indicating he has no inclination to advance single-payer or even particularly discuss it has to be tough.   The president has already begun to pick up some of Sen. Max Baucus’ language about building an “American solution that mixes public and private.”

All signs are pointing to bummer central for those HR 676 advocates looking for a White House fist-bump.   But try telling that to Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute, who is disappointed in the summit for the polar opposite reason:  “First, this debate is obviously about socialized medicine, and to argue anything else is absurd. We have a president who advocates single-payer. That president just held a health care summit to which he invited other single-payer advocates, but not a single free-market advocate.”  One would have thought AHIP or Business Roundtable or Pfizer or the AMA, whose plan for health care reform openly appeals to market forces and tax credits, could be considered free-market advocates.  I guess not!

Yeesh, talk about eye of the beholder!  Despite the nice talk about not being red states or blue states but the United States, our political discourse is still following the old song, “You say potato… I say freedom fries.”

(Photo credit:  Steve Rhodes on Flickr.)