Mr. Obama's healthcare efforts have come in for withering criticism today from unexpected sources. Here are the links and titles. They are both "must reads" for anyone interested in the topics.
First, from the L. A. Times:
Activists say poor nations' access to affordable drugs stymied:
The White House is accused of protecting pharmaceutical companies to win their support for healthcare reform.
Second, from the civil libertarian Nat Hentoff:
I Am Finally Scared of a White House Administration
This relates to rationing health care for the elderly.
In addition, a non-partisan poll shows that Floridians overwhelmingly disagree with the idea propounded by the Democrats that the town hall protests are "un-American".
Incredibly, the wheels may be coming off the health-care reform effort.
Everyone knows that many improvements are needed. A week or two ago, I E-mailed Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism a link to the breaking news that Big Pharma was "in bed" with Team Obama and would spend the amazing sum of $150 MM to promote the reform effort. Yves commented on her blog that this meant that (true) reform was now dead on arrival.
With opposition mounting from the libertarian left and the "cannot be criticized" groups of Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders, as well as with continued opposition from the Republicans, it is crunch time for an inexperienced White House and an unaccomplished Congress.
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