For those who aren't yet convinced Barack Obama is on the wrong side of the health care debate—like, for example, whoever wrote this piece for the Concord Monitor—my latest take on the issue is now up here. Quick and dirty version: Mandates good, Obama wrong. Of course, you'll have to read the article to see why.
I had meant to link to a few others who've written about this subject lately and, in my rush to finish the piece, forgot. But if you want to read more on the subject, here's a fine rundown by Maggie Mahar, the author of Money-Driven Medicine. And here's Paul Krugman, author of—oh, you know who he is. And here's Ezra Klein. Yea, you know him too.
I also feel compelled to emphasize a point Krugman made today: I don't like Obama's plan as much as either Clinton's or Edwards'. And I really don't like the way he's been talking about the subject lately.
But his plan is still light years better than what the Republican presidential candidates are putting up. And, at least so far, he's stopped short of saying anything that would prevent him from backing an individual mandate should he get elected and should such a measure come to his desk. (Actually, it'd be hard for him to condemn such an option completely, given that he has a mandate for kids.) I'm grateful for that.
--Jonathan Cohn