Barack Obama is seizing upon a gaffe by McCain adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, about the Republican candidates’ health care plan. When the adviser was asked on CNN Money about young workers abdoning employment based health care. ”Why would they leave?” he said. “What they are getting from their employer is way better than what they could get with the credit.”
The Democrats are mocking this comment as an “October Surprise” and Obama incorporated this into his stump speech in Virginia. “This morning, we were offered a stunning bit of straight talk . . . from his top economic advisor, who actually said that the health insurance people currently get from their employer is, and I quote, ‘way better’ than the health care they’d be getting if John McCain were president,”
While the Democratic response may be somewhat overindulgent in its interpretation even the most non-partisan must be left scratching their head at it. What exactly is McCain’s overall goal for health care? Does he want an employment based health care system or not? He preaches competition, competition, competition, but how is competition going to be improved if employers still select insurance plans instead of individuals. It seems as though the McCain campaign does not even buy its own internal logic.
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[...] McCain Campaign Sends Mixed Signals on Health Care … talk . . . from his top economic advisor, who actually said that the health insurance people currently get from their employer is, and I quote, ‘way better’ than the health care they’d be getting if John McCain were president,” … [...]