As I was listening to a little of the debate tonight, I was struck by a few things. First, John McCain is more comfortable in this setting. Barack Obama is less comfortable. He doesn’t quite have the technique down… I know, it is difficult, Barack. I mean, having a conversation with a normal human being is one of those upper level courses you must have missed at Columbia.
Second, healthcare and health insurance are too separate things (click “here” to read my post on Barack Obama’s Healthcare Policy). Healthcare is what you get when you are swick, as well as what you get to preent you from getting sick. Health insurance is the process by which most people finance their health care. Get it right, Obama. Secondly, and I have said this before and I will say it again, HEALTHCARE (and CERTAINLY Health Insurance) IS NOT A RIGHT! Barack, your Constituional Law course must have skipped over, say, I don’t know… THE CONSTITUTION!!!! (You must be reading the same one where you read that privacy is a right in the Constitution… silly me). Health care is a necessity, a necessity that you must take care of in order to live a long and productive life. If you cannot afford health insurance to finance your healthcare, there are plenty of ways that already exist to help you (I hate to say this, but you might actually have to look a little, ask around, do some research). There are major medical plans out there for you to buy to cover catatrosphic illness/surgery if you are relatively healthy and watch your costs, you can see your doctor for wellness visits and check-ups for far less than typical health insurance.
Part of the problem with health insurance is that there are few true “choices” out there. There are typically one, maybe two, types of plans available to you through your employer. There are other plans out there, especially for younger, healthier individuals. Health Savings Accounts are GREAT avenues for younger individuals to insure themselves and save money at the same time. There need to be more choices in the health insurance industry. Government mandates, government-sponsored, government-funded health insurance will decrease options because the masses will flock to this plan like rats on a cheet-o. That is not the kind of choice that will change health insurance. Read my post on Barack Obama’s Healthcare Policy (this is not why McCain is right, just why Barack Obama is wrong).
I have to admit something – John McCain might have lost my vote after last Friday. He voted for the largest overnight increase in the federal deficit in history (that I have found, at least). As of last Friday, the deficit was right around $10.125 trillion. With the $700 billion Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (and the $150 billion or so that was added in “goodies” and “sweeteners”, that bill is about $950 billion. If you do the math, that means an OVERNIGHT increase in the federal deficit of close to 9%… in one day… with one stroke of the pen. Now, just to be sure, that in no way means I’m going to vote for Obama. I couldn’t bring myself to vote for someone who I disagree so strongly with on a whole host of issues. It just means that I might not vote in the presidential race. I might be voting in every other race except that one. Don’t worry, there is no way Tennessee will go blue on November 4th, so it’s not like it will make a difference towards the negative. In fact, it might wake some Republicans up to start adopting some different ideas, some, I don’t know, CONSERVATIVE IDEAS? Shocking, I know…
One last thing… aren’t you glad that we aren’t in control? Aren’t you glad that God is sovereign over the leaders of our nations, and that not only does He control them, but that He puts them into those postions in the first place. We have a responsibility to be active in the goings on of our government, but HE ultimately controls it. He ultimately chooses who our next President will be.
Excellence in Everything, and All to the Glory of God 