Elections come and go. And as those cycles occur, various big ideas also have a tendency to move from their fifteen minutes of fame into the dust bin of old ideas, left there to rot without ever delivering their promised benefits. Health Savings Accounts is one such idea that, unfortunately, has mostly been relegated to that political purgatory.
The Tea Party movement threatens to be a very big presence in the coming mid-term elections. The people at the rallies are true believers. They come at their own expense and wave homemade signs. Some slogans are really very clever. What you may not know is the gatherings are heavily sponsored by major corporate donors.
Help me out here, because if it makes any sense I cannot see it. Last week I took a friend to the airport, and saw her pulled aside by three giggling — really — representatives of the “Transportation Security Administration” for secondary screening.
A very good friend of mine directed me to a recent piece in the Atlantic Monthly on the state of health in the US, and the delivery of said services. I say it that way because the author, David Goldhill, says an overemphasis on health management (epitomized in the phrase, “health care”) as opposed to prevention and overall well-being, may be in large measure responsible for exploding costs, and the number of preventable deaths by infection.
It started off as an “I’m sorry” I offered to a friend the other day. He asked what I was sorry about; I simply said, “the November election.” Regular readers will recall my endorsement and defense of then-Sen. Barack Obama during that election cycle.
The record at Open for Business is already clear on my positions concerning Election 2008. I did not support President Obama’s run for the presidency. But, on this Inauguration Day the matter of what might have been must be set aside for what is. And, what is – admittedly – is pretty spectacular.
The full text of Sen. McCain's concessions speech can be found below. “I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.”
DEVELOPING: With California reporting its results, it appears that Sen. Obama is now President-elect Obama. Votes are still coming in, but OFB believes that the senator from Illinois has already clinched the presidency.
Last week, OFB endorsed Sen. John McCain for President of the United States. In the closing hours of the race, contributing editor Jason Kettinger offers a voice of dissent in support for Sen. Barack Obama. Read on to find out why he supports the Democratic nominee.
Can you believe it has been two years? For two years we have listened to candidates build platforms, argue their cases and tear down their opponents. Now we look at the final two candidates and the question that should be on everyone’s mind is this: who offers the best solutions for this country? My answer is John McCain.