White House Backing Down on Health Care Reform

When Barack Obama campaigned for the office of president, one of his main platforms was health care reform.  Now it appears, with the announcement that the White House is not completely firm on the need for a public option (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jlMpJGn28kqCcgU-aGcYE_ZHW-ywD9AHRLFG0), that health care reform may be falling flat again, just as it did during the early Clinton administration.  

So, in light of this turn of events, the question that naturally arises is- If every industrialized nation in the world has free health care available to their citizens, then what is the problem with the United States?

When asked about the struggle for health care reform, 30-time emmy-award-winning journalist Bill Moyer had this to say on a recent Real Time with Bill Maher show:

"This is harder because there's more money on the side of those who oppose health care reform than there was in the '60s.  Money was important in the '60s but it was not as persuasive and as powerful as it is today  Having been there, I find it hard to understand why this country has not embraced the notion of health care reform as a common human need to which everyone should have access- regardless of their economic resources."

Apparently,  the position of President of the United States is not as powerful of a position as many think it is. Now, assuming that President Obama actually cares about all the citizens of the United States having access to affordable health care, the question naturally begs- Should President Obama compromise with these powerful interests (i.e. the insurance companies and pharmaceutical industries) in hopes of staying in political power come 2012 or should he fight for what he believes in and go down a noble man if he has to?  Time will tell what he decides.  At least 50 million people's future hangs in the balance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gSQ2DWkVE0