Today’s Editorials and Opinions
Does President Obama Have The Guts? PoliticoCould Hillary Clinton have been right about Barack Obama? She said it was not just a matter of Obama lacking experience - that was the least of it - but that he lacked the strength, the toughness, the will to get the job done (Roger Simon, 8/18).
Rage The Left Should Use The Washington Post
History shows that if the reformist left doesn't offer a plausible story and strategy of reform, the lunatic right will gain ground even with an implausible one. So where are the liberal protesters? (Robert Kuttner, 8/18).
Harry Reid's 'Evil' Moment Wall Street Journal
The Senate majority leader invoked the e-word himself last week at an energy conference in Las Vegas, where he accused those protesting President Barack Obama's health-care proposals of being "evil mongers" (William McGurn, 8/17).
Medicare Offers Lessons For National Health Care Reform The Baltimore Sun
Medicare eliminated the fragmented, episodic and often dehumanizing care that many retired seniors were forced to seek through emergency departments or charitable sources because they no longer had coverage from an employer (John Burton, 8/18).
Will Health Care Reform Hurt American Senior Citizens? Atlanta Journal Constitution
Yes: "It is a myth that living longer burdens society," writes Stuart Barton, president of the conservative American Seniors Association. No: "Several provisions in the legislation will directly benefit older Americans," writes Cas Robinson, Georgia's state president for AARP (8/17).
This Is Reform? The New York Times
If we manage to get health care "reform" this time around it will be the kind of reform that benefits the very people who have given us a failed system, and thus made reform so necessary (Bob Herbert, 8/17). This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.