That is the only possible conclusion that one can draw from its report this morning on the health care proposals of the presidential candidates. It asserted that Dennis Kucinich explicitly supports "socialized medicine." Kucinich has openly supported a universal Medicare plan that would extend a Medicare-like insurance program to the entire population. The difference between such a program and socialized medicine is that the providers would still remain private under Mr. Kucinich's plan, as is the case with Medicare. This is different from socialized Medicine in places like England or Denmark, where the government directly provides health care. Is NPR really unable to find a reporter who recognizes this distinction or did it feel a need to slur ("socialized medicine" is a slur in the current political context) Dennis Kucinich for some reason?
--Dean Baker