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Fastest Flip-Flop Ever?

Here from last night's debate, is President Bush making a good case against government-run health care:

I think government- run health will lead to poor-quality health, will lead to rationing, will lead to less choice.

Once a health-care program ends up in a line item in the federal government budget, it leads to more controls.

And just look at other countries that have tried to have federally controlled health care. They have poor-quality health care.

Our health-care system is the envy of the world because we believe in making sure that the decisions are made by doctors and patients, not by officials in the nation's capital.

And what does he say less than two minutes later?

We've increased VA funding by $22 billion in the four years since I've been president. That's twice the amount that my predecessor increased VA funding.

Of course we're meeting our obligation to our veterans, and the veterans know that.

We're expanding veterans' health care throughout the country. We're aligning facilities where the veterans live now. Veterans are getting very good health care under my administration...

True, you can't blame him much for the flip-flop - it's what the public wants to hear. How many people even noticed the glaring contradiction? I suppose that on this issue I'd rather have flip-flop than all flop.

Posted by Alex Tabarrok on October 14, 2004 at 12:30 AM in Economics, Medicine | Permalink

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» Hiding the true cost of health care from Houston's Clear Thinkers
In his latest WSJ ($) Business World column, Holman Jenkins, Jr. again addresses America's broken health care finance system. Mr. Jenkins is an unusually gifted writer on business issues, and his prior columns in this area (here, here and here)... [Read More]

Tracked on Oct 14, 2004 10:24:33 AM

» Hiding the true cost of health care from Houston's Clear Thinkers
In his latest WSJ ($) Business World column, Holman Jenkins, Jr. again addresses America's broken health care finance system. Mr. Jenkins is an unusually gifted writer on business issues, and his prior columns in this area (here, here and here)... [Read More]

Tracked on Oct 14, 2004 1:35:12 PM