Obama must seize his chance to give health care debate clear direction

PLAIN DEALER OPINION




Obama must seize his chance to give health care debate clear direction -- editorial
by The editors
Sunday September 06, 2009, 4:48 AM

President Barack Obama plans to wade back into the nation's health care debate this week, possibly during a Labor Day speech in Cincinnati and certainly during a televised address to Congress Wednesday evening. Most reports suggest that he hopes to bring some clarity to a discussion that has lost focus amid a flurry of competing congressional bills, wild talk of death panels and other distortions by his opponents and, quite frankly, Obama's failure to enunciate clearly what he wants in any reform.

By not setting out clear parameters, Obama has allowed both his allies and his opponents to confuse the American public. Many Americans simply are unsure what is proposed and how it would affect them. If the president lays down some clear markers, it will help them understand what's at stake and could establish the framework for a productive debate in Washington and throughout the land.

That said, if there were a national consensus on what ails American health care and how to fix it, the job would have been done by now. The fact is most Americans have health insurance and are satisfied with the care they get -- and often unaware how much it costs. When the president says that if you like your current coverage, you'll be able to keep it, he is trying to assuage this majority. He's also not being honest about what has to happen.


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to confuse the American public",


The obfuscation is fully intended, as you most likely know...