How the Dems Can Save Obamacare

'The health of each of us depends on the health of the rest of us'

(NEWSER) - The Democrats are in danger of losing the health care reform battle over an argument "that a novice debater would have no trouble putting down," writes Thomas Frank for the Wall Street Journal. Reformers need to directly address the role of government in health care, Frank writes, and demolish the myth that "health insurance is a form of property, a matter of pure personal responsibility" earned by the hard work of individuals, and that those who don't have it "chose a toxic life of fast food and fast morals." More»

(NEWSER) - The RNC has joined the fracas over health care reform with a proposed “seniors’ bill of rights” that guards against Medicare cuts, ABC News reports. “Our seniors have really come under fire in the last few weeks,” says RNC chair Michael Steele—who backed Medicare cuts as a Senate candidate in 2006. His argument today on Good Morning America: "We should protect the seniors' ability to access health care." More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama brought his case for health reform to talk radio today, telling a largely conservative audience that a public option is only a small part of his goal and expressing skepticism that any deal with Republicans is possible. On the public option, "what we've said is we think that's a good idea,” Obama told Michael Smerconish's call-in show, broadcast from the White House. “We haven't said that's the only aspect," reports the Washington Post. More»

Mayo Clinic boss could be reform's 'Petraeus'

(NEWSER) - To fix health care, we need a commander like Gen. David Petraeus: “a professional who can break through the political chaff and describe a strategy for reform that can unite the country,” writes David Ignatius in the Washington Post. He nominates Mayo Clinic CEO Dr. Denis Cortese, who’s already doing what the country needs: “providing high-quality health care at relatively low cost.” More»

(NEWSER) - Both chambers of Congress will likely miss President Obama’s August deadline for a health care reform bill, slowing “the momentum behind the president's top priority,” Jay Newton-Small writes in Time. “Why can't a popular president with poll numbers in the 60s and super majorities in both chambers of Congress get this done?”

• The Costs Question: "So much of the potential cost savings of overhauling the entire health care system is unknown and impossible to predict with any accuracy," and all the conflicting numbers give ammunition to opponents.