Oh, come ON!

As far as I'm aware, none of the Democratic candidates for 08 truly get the health care thing. Granted, this is all my opinion, but here's what it comes down to:

Ensure that everyone in the country can get the care they need, without disastrous financial effects.

That's it. It's not complicated. Everyone should be able to go and get what medical treatment they need. Doing so should not bankrupt them. Necessary drugs should be affordable to everyone. Perhaps, as the NHS does, someone with demonstrated financial need should even receive discounted drugs. We should not force the caretakers of our older population to wade through seven thousand pages of Governmentese to get discounted blood pressure pills.

There's my dirty liberal manifesto about health care. Not terribly complicated, is it?

So, John Edwards, what the hell is this all about? You want to make doctors visits mandatory? You want to require everyone to have mental-health checks? Let's start with you, Mr. "Why would anyone want medical privacy" Edwards. Plus there's the issue of "Oh yes let's do bog down a doctor's time with someone who is entirely healthy." But I'm sure the pharmaceutical industry loves the idea - think about all the formerly healthy people who could be diagnosed with the disease of the week!

I'm 100% entirely in favor of universal health care. I think the state of health care in America is absolutely, horrifyingly shameful right now. But if you want to swing in the far opposite direction and require me to go to the doctor when I don't need to, you can take that idea, cram it into one of your bodily orifices, and then ask your doctor to remove it. Universal health care means providing the opportunity to get health care, not requiring you to get health care.