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The consensus early in the ‘08 campaign seems to be that, while a very seductive politician, Sen. Barak Obama (D-IL) appears to lack substance and quite simply no one really knows what he would do as president if elected. 

Thursday, the young senator made his first self-identification and it was a revealing one.  

The Associated Press reports: 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Every American should have health care coverage within six years, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama said Thursday as he set an ambitious goal soon after jumping into the 2008 presidential race.  

“The time has come for universal health care in

America,” Obama said at a conference of Families USA, a health care advocacy group.  

“I am absolutely determined that by the end of the first term of the next president, we should have universal health care in this country,” the

Illinois senator said.  

Obama was previewing what is shaping up to be a theme of the 2008 Democratic primary. One of his rivals, 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards, also said as he announced his candidacy last month that he will offer a proposal for universal health care.  

Obama said while plans are offered in every campaign season with “much fanfare and promise,” they collapse under the weight of

Washington politics, leaving citizens to struggle with the skyrocketing costs.  

He said it’s wrong that 46 million in this country are uninsured when the country spends more than any one else on health care. He said Americans pay $15 billion in taxes to help care for the uninsured.  

“We can’t afford another disappointing charade in 2008, 2009 and Obama said. “It’s not only tiresome, it’s wrong.”  

Obama’s call was an echo of a speech he made last April when he said Democrats “need to cling to the core values that make us Democrats, the belief in universal health care, the belief in universal education, and then we should be agnostic in terms of how to achieve those values.”

I’ve said it before, there is no such thing as magic. And despite how much politicians may lead you to believe it, the government cannot simply create “cheap affordable healthcare” by decree. There will be a cost of any program that a President Obama or Edwards may propose; and the cost will be outrageous and will simultaneously destroy all incentive and ability to innovate and provide quality healthcare to customers. 

It’s ironic that Obama and Edwards are now proposing universal healthcare considering who they’re chasing in the primary. Over ten years ago Mrs. Clinton was at the center of a proposal to socialize American medicine, maybe they should ask her how that turned out.

Last 5 posts by Ryan

• Scarcity, Shmarcity - June 26th, 2008
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• Step One: Open mouth... - June 23rd, 2008
• Sobering Statistics and Economic Commentary - June 11th, 2008
• Obama: Humbly setting out to save the world - June 8th, 2008

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