Some observations on last night’s health care infomercial.

First off, this is what the White House considers a ‘dialogue:’

…the rest of us, of course, would call it a “lecture.” One of the funny things about dialogues is that it’s more or less assumed that both sides are prepared to change their minds if necessary.

Moving along, Ed Morrissey highlighted what he calls a “Michael Dukakis moment“:

EXCLUSIVE: President Obama Defends Right to Choose Best Care

Devinsky asked the president pointedly if he would be willing to promise that he wouldn’t seek such extraordinary help for his wife or daughters if they became sick and the public plan he’s proposing limited the tests or treatment they can get.

The president refused to make such a pledge, though he allowed that if “it’s my family member, if it’s my wife, if it’s my children, if it’s my grandmother, I always want them to get the very best care.

Video of the exchange here; as Ed commented, “If ObamaCare isn’t good enough for Sasha, Malia, or Michelle, then it’s not good enough for America.” Mind you, there’s not a chance at all that any of those people – or, indeed, the loved ones of any major politician in America – are ever going to have less than the best of health care. Which may frankly be the problem; democracies are sometimes too good at cushioning its elected officials from the consequences of their domestic policy positions.

And then there’s the health care tax issue  Via Instapundit:

Obama not closing door on possible health care tax

WASHINGTON (AP) — With lawmakers trying to crunch the numbers on a $1 trillion health care overhaul, President Barack Obama is leaving the door open to a new tax on employer-provided health care benefits.

Senior senators said Wednesday the benefits tax could be essential for the complex plan to be fully financed.

“I don’t want to prejudge what they’re doing,” Obama said, referring to proposals in the Senate to tax workers who get expensive insurance policies. Obama, who campaigned against the tax when he ran for president, drew a quick rebuff from organized labor.

This is an example of how he “campaigned against the tax:”

…and I noted these shenanigans from the Democrats in Congress last month.  What’s different now is that the White House is testing the waters in breaking yet another campaign promise, and never mind organized labor.  The President of AFSCME responded:

Gerald W. McEntee, president of the 1.6 million-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said in an interview that union leaders believe Obama is “a person of his word.”

…which will come to a bit of a surprise to gay rights activists, transparency advocates, the antiwar movement, and pretty much every type of libertarian that exists.  Soon to be added, apparently: the elderly, the working class, and college graduates just entering the workplace.  It really is a comprehensive health care plan, isn’t it?  Just perhaps not in the way that the White House intends.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.