Shika Dalmia, Healthcare and Polticians

Here's Shikha Dalmia of the Reason Foundation and forbes.com take on Obama's Healthcare speech last night. A snippet that I found personally jarring:

Perhaps the most striking--and disturbing--thing about the speech was the unblinking confidence Obama exuded while breaking key campaign promises he made to voters. He had raked poor Hillary Clinton over the coals for admitting that her road to universal coverage was paved with an individual mandate. "Everyone would be forced to buy coverage, even if you can't afford it," warned Obama in an ad. "You pay a penalty if you don't."

My father and I watched the speech together and while we were taking it in he turned and asked me "So what do you think of this guy?" I told him that I wasn't a fan as I fundamentally disagreed with him philosophically, but that I did not dislike the man from a personal perspective. But I stopped myself, thought about it for a second, and said I didn't trust him. My Dad only nodded and said something along the lines of "So that's what you think of him personally." And he was right.

I have told myself that I will never form an opinion about someone, no matter how tempting it is, without personally meeting them and getting to know them. Maybe this is a good policy to follow when dealing with regular folks, but when concerning politicians it is certainly not. These are people who have unprecedented power to intrude in virtually every aspect of our lives. To not consider them personally is hiding behind a facade of tolerance and cool-headedness, when all one is really doing is being a coward, too frightened and weak to step into the fray.

Do I think Barack Obama has Americans' best interests in mind? No, I do not. Do I trust him? No, I do not. Although I disagree with him, can I say Barack Obama is principled? No, I believe he is not.

I would not shake the hand of President Barack Obama. I could not look myself in the mirror afterward if I ever did.


Note: In the article, Dalmia has a far more effective analogy for mandating care for those with pre-conditions. After reading hers, I realized mine is both inaccurate and actually portrays the policy in far too generous a light.