Keith Olbermann
I had never even heard of Keith Olbermann until last week when I stumbled across his one hour commentary on healthcare. If you did not see it, here it is. Your thoughts?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/vp/33217642#33217642
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by Suzanna Ohlsen
On November 19, 2009 at 4:29 pm
May I suggest that you not admit to ignorance of one of the most famous political commentators out there?
by Dan Boyle
On December 3, 2009 at 2:12 pm
This puts the healthcare issue in a great perspective, and should be required viewing before entering the polls to vote. The only thing not touched on was the fact so many people believe in the right to the life of unborn childeren, that without a national health system will fail them after they come out of the womb.
by Greg Kevans
On May 2, 2010 at 8:46 pm
I empathize with Olbermann’s context of helping an ill parent, but personal experiences are not the justification of public policy. Yes, it may be very profitable to watch this video before entering the polls…especially to see the straw-man Olbermann raises in this episode. Morbidity (illness) not mortality (death) is the massively most frequent issue in individual health. Obesity, diabetes, coronary disease: these are problems of lifestyle and morbidity before they ever become issues of death, a word he repeats again and again. But Olbermann has no qualms about making up his own rules, and painting an emotional picture to defuse analytical thought. I have lived quite long enough to recognize that Olbermann is a misanthrope, not a political commentator. He is not unique in this regard. Similar creatures live in the right-wing of the political spectrum.
We have many problems in delivery of health care in this country, but a) does this mean the government has legal jurisdiction, or competence, to take over an entire sector of our society, and b) why did Olbermann not address the ways that existing government intervention into health care delivery has created the problems we see in Medicare, Medicaid, regulation of physician compensation, regulation of hospital policy, and the economic barriers the government has created in drug development, and so on and so on?