I accuse a lot of Bush bashers of simply making up their minds on his Foreign policy up front based on a cursory shred of evidence before diving into any of the details.   Somewhere early in the process, they caught a certain scent and then, in lieu of actually finding more data, closed off their minds and repeated to themselves "I hate him, I hate him, I hate him."  They see war, war is bad, Bush is war, and thus...

Ok, so that's probably a tad simplistic.   BUT, I think I'm beginning to understand it a bit more.  In my case, I haven't had the time to really dig into the Medicare reform bill but all the early things I'm sniffing scare the heck out of me.   I don't have the time, energy, or even much inclination to dig deeply into Medicare but I am pretty darn close to making up my mind, shutting my eyes, and stammering my feet.   I'm becoming an angry, hate filled man (well, just a little).

Medicare reform has FAR more tangible impact on everyman than more traditional left-wing Flame Bait like the Patriot act, steel tariffs or Yellow Cake from Nigeria.   In times like this, on domestic issues, I turn to my old friends at the Cato Institute to get their opinion on the whole mess.   What they have to say isn't very reassuring:

...This bill will clearly exceed the original $400 billion price tag. In a typically congressional version of compromise, the conference committee report incorporates the most expensive aspects of both the House and Senate bills.

...Any attempt to actually reform Medicare has been stripped out of this bill or so watered down as to be unrecognizable. Proposals to give seniors more choices and add elements of market-based competition to the program have been reduced to a tiny pilot project that doesn't even start until 2010.

Despite this, MSNBC seems to portray this bill as a victory for "conservatives" --

The bill would satisfy other goals of conservatives, including creation of tax-preferred health savings accounts, open to individuals who purchase high-deductible health insurance policies. Most controversial of all, the legislation would create a limited program of direct competition between traditional Medicare and private plans, beginning in 2010.

Well, maybe MSNBC can tally it this way if you take a pretty warped view of what a "conservative" is.  These are all issues which the Cato institute dismisses as cosmetic but MSNBC considers substantial.   Sigh - I'm confused and am not 100% sure what to think... but there's a loud a voice in my gut that tells me this is all bad and my adrenaline meter is redlining.   Maybe this is what those anti-war protestors feel like. 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Medicare is a voting issue for me.  IF a Dem has a solid plan for rolling back the state here (yeah, right), he's got me.

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UPDATE - Daniel Drezner is depressed about this as well and has a LOT of links to thinktank reports to back his opinion up.

BTW - I'm heading to NYC for the remainder of the week and will be spending Thanksgiving with some relatives in Long Island.   A little NYC is always a great pick-me-up.

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