Don’t miss Robert Samuelson’s hard-hitting piece on the “air of absurdity to what is mistakenly called ‘health care reform.’” The administration’s plan to adopt sweeping “reform” in the face of financial realties is mind-boggling:

The disconnect between what President Obama says and what he’s doing is so glaring that most people could not abide it. The president, his advisers and allies have no trouble. But reconciling blatantly contradictory objectives requires them to engage in willful self-deception, public dishonesty, or both.

 

How do you sell such an overwhelmingly deceptive policy to the American putlic?

The campaign to pass Obama’s health care plan has assumed a false, though understandable, cloak of moral superiority

 

It’s easy to assume this attitude because Americans tend to be decent folks who want everyone to have health insurance and good medical care. We’re susceptible to this kind of rhetoric. But here’s why we shouldn’t be:

It’s false for two reasons. First, the country has other goals — including preventing future financial crises and minimizing the crushing effects of high deficits or taxes on the economy and younger Americans — that “health care reform” would jeopardize. And second, the benefits of “reform” are exaggerated. Sure, many Americans would feel less fearful about losing insurance; but there are cheaper ways to limit insecurity. Meanwhile, improvements in health for today’s uninsured would be modest. They already receive substantial medical care. Insurance would help some individuals enormously, but studies find that, on average, gains are moderate. Despite using more health services, people don’t automatically become healthier.

 

Samuelson’s prediction if Obamacare is passed: a self-inflicted wound.