Political Comment

As should be clear from previous posts, I'm in favor of health care reform in this country. Because of that, I appreciate the temptation to use the death of Ted Kennedy to generate support for the version of the bill that includes a public option, which the late Senator advocated. There's an eerily similar precedent for this, as Lyndon Johnson invoked the recently assassinated John F. Kennedy's name to help pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While I have to admit uneasiness that anyone involved in the legislative process might be subject to such emotional appeals while rejecting the more valid substantive arguments for passage, it would represent some kind of poetic justice after all the ridiculous lies about death panels and such that have been used by opponents to bash the plan. So in the end, I won't complain if that's the way this plays out.