Have you noticed that a good portion of the news coverage of the coming 2008 US President's Derby Race begins with "Of course, it's over a year and a half away, but..." followed by a rehashed version of a prior story about how the race is "shaping up"? Me too. But I have to borrow the point, I'm afraid, since I can already tell something about how this whole thing is going to turn out for me. And, since I can get some free space to ramble on, I figured I'd share my decision with you.

Let's cut to the chase: I'm voting for whoever I think will keep this country away from universal health care the longest. This might be a conservative who will steadfastly fight against the policy, or it could be a liberal who is likely to so botch the process or incite so much negative opinion, that it will mobilize people against the plan. Either way, the result is clear. I've come to the opinion that the single most damaging policy that could be enacted by the new administration (which can only occur because some of the whoppers of the current administration have made even Bill O'Reilly stop and stare) is some form of single-payer/single-buyer/universal/whatever you want to call it so it doesn't sound like socialized medicine.

And I want to make excruciatingly clear to people why I've come to this point. So I'll take some time, lay out the points, hit the topics as they occur to me, and provide anyone who cares to read it, precisely why the concept of actual universal health care in the US scares the living fuck out of me.

Please, feel free to offer support, criticism, pointers, topics for consideration, or just stay quiet. It makes no difference to me. Be prepared for some econ, some ethics, some constitutional references, politics, and perhaps a judicious amount of swearing.

This isn't a debate hall, it's the Mint.