Hillary Clinton's healthcare plan may be a worthy piece of legislation that preserves a primary role for the private market and takes the preservation and expansion of choice as its main imperative, but that doesn't mean it won't be smeared on exactly those grounds. Here, for instance, is Fred Thompson, doing some lying:
Charming! It worries me a bit that Democrats spend so little time attacking the Right on healthcare. Given that we're the ones with the plans and the polling advantage, there can be a tendency to be constructive without being aggressive. But Romney, Giuliani, and Thompson have all gone for the throat on her plan -- and that will, over time, impact public perceptions of Democratic efforts, even as it does nothing for Republican ratings on the issue. But they don't need to build, only destroy.
Better by far would be for Democrats to affirmatively strike at the Right's incoherence on the issue. Thompson can attack Clinton on choice all he wants, but Hillary can point out that she's letting Americans choose any type of full coverage they want, while Thompson is offering the uninsured mother with breast cancer her choice of tax deduction. If Thompson wants to argue that Democrats are allergic to choice, there's no reason Democrats can't wonder why Republicans have such trouble with compassion -- and why they think every American shouldn't have health insurance.
