Free market capitalism used to be associated with the Republican Party. But for the last several years the GOP has been George Bush's party. It follows where Bush has led, and although Bush has frequently alienated American voters by screwing up, he hasn't often alienated them by promoting ideas he knows they will have difficulty accepting. The path of the free market may be right, but it isn't easy. George Bush and his party are made for easy.

The key question for Republicans is whether they want to continue to be George Bush's party. Sen. McCain hasn't faced that question yet; he is trying to "reach out" to general election voters while still pushing all the hot buttons of Bush's remaining admirers in the GOP -- as if he didn't really have the Republican nomination yet. Given the enormous gap between the Republicans who still admire Bush and the much larger number of Americans who don't, it's an impossible task politically. Substantively it has McCain tying himself up in knots, trying to sound independent of Bush without crossing Bush.

Frankly, I wonder if the best thing McCain could do right now would be to take a month off by himself; no campaigning, no speeches, just assembling a platform for the fall election. The potential downside to this idea is considerable, but it has to beat what he's doing now, which amounts to throwing out half-baked ideas in response to the latest newspaper headlines.

Um, yeah, the market will provide an insurance product that covers cleft lips. Just not at a price that many families can afford.

This is basic social insurance economics. I teach an introductory course on this stuff, and my students could take apart his argument in their sleep.

Mankiw, Holtz-Eakin, ... The devil must have a fine collection of souls in his satchel by now.

Free-market capitalism has better defenders; they're called Democrats.

Chief among the bizarre ideas that continues have currency is the proposition that the GOP supports free-market capitalism or "business." The GOP supports low taxes and a regulatory structure favoring extant large corporations. That's not free market capitalism and history shows us that this approach stifles economic growth. Thus businesses enjoy a better environment for growth during Democratic administrations.

Looking for free-market capitalists in the GOP? You might as well be looking for unicorns.

My daughter's only been able to get coverage for the help she needs for issues connected with her Asperger's syndrome because of state regulations of the type that John McCain wants to abolish.

Kevin, I am confused: why are all the policy questions answered by advisers -- why is the press not asking McCain himself about this? the press makes much of his availability, but with this story and Cindy's jets, I have only seen advisers.

Free-market capitalism really deserves better defenders than this.

If by "Free-market capitalism" you are referring to the kind of corporate crony capitalism that most people claiming to support "free-market" capitalism (including McCain and Holtz-Eakin) are pushing on the rest of us, no, it has exactly the defenders it deserves. Its not a good philosophy cursed with poor advocates, it is instead the self-interested conspiracy against the public interest by the entrenched interests in the capitalist class that Adam Smith warned about.

all hail the genius of the Republican Party: tell a $5T lie and nobody in the press blinks.

he is trying to "reach out" to general election voters ....as if he didn't really have the Republican nomination yet.

Based on the Pennsylvania primary,where 27% of voters passed on Saint John,I'd say there's some doubt that Republicans really have taken him to heart.
There is insurance coverage offered by the free market for that kid's cleft lip, it's called self-insurance. That or a policy that will cover everything but the condition you need it for.

I wish "journalists" would use a story like this to launch the discussion of single payer which is needed in the US. The excess cost growth will cause Medicare to use up every dollar of current tax collection by 2050.
Oh,wait,journalists....never mind.

In the novel Darkness at Noon, a witness for the state was tortured by giving him an artificial hare-lip. That is what health care means to McCain and Republicans.

>"all hail the genius of the Republican Party: tell a $5T lie and nobody in the press blinks."

Steal a little and they cut off your hand.
Steal a lot and they make you king.

Lie a little and they jail you for purgury.
Lie a lot and they make you president.

Cindy McCain's 'Operation Smile' Org. is getting geared up take care of all US families' needs in the cleft lip area, I imagine, don't you?

I think you've left out the most damning part of Holtz-Eakin's comments:

If there is a demand for this kind of coverage, he said, some insurance company will offer it. “There are boutique products in every other market,� he said.

You know, like Rolex watches and Lexus convertibles. Let them eat cake.

Holtz-Eakin should've known better. After all, the CEA has been MIA in the CEO POTUS's FUBARnomics.

"the marketplace will fill the void" - sadly he likely believes this.

I keep hearing this crap about health care and the magic of the market. The market works well when you have a bunch of willing buyers and willing sellers neither of whom are under any undue pressure to buy or sell. Commodities are handled beautifully by a market.

Heath insurance, for a lot of obvious, well established and painful reasons isn't the kind of good or service that is suited to the classic market approach.

Oh, whats a trillion here, a trillion there, pretty soon your talkin real money!

Joe Buck on April 29, 2008 at 2:39 PM:

My daughter's only been able to get coverage for the help she needs for issues connected with her Asperger's syndrome because of state regulations of the type that John McCain wants to abolish.

Ditto for my two stepsons.

The problem is that the market really only works, when it does, when you are talking about a sizable group. Minorities don't have that kind of power required to compel monolithic companies.

My daughter has a cleft palate, and the costs associated with it are significant because it involves many surgeries, speech therapy, and even physical therapy. There's a reason insurers want to classify healthcare like this as "cosmetic" treatment.

But in another example of a McCain flipflop, the McCain-Kelly bill required insurers to cover corrective surgery for defects like cleft palate.

Why does John McCain hate America's children?
I'm certain my grandson's heart condition would not be covered if not mandated.
What is wrong with these people? They do not know how the world works. At least for those without wealthy beer baron wives.

If there is a demand for this kind of coverage, he said, some insurance company will offer it.

If there is a demand for a expensive medical treatments for a rare medical condition for those too poor to pay for it themselves, then an insurance company dedicated to maximizing its profits will offer it? Uh, why? How would they make any money on it? And if they didn't make any money, why would they do it? Out of the goodness of their insurance agents' cold dead hearts?

Typical Republican talking point - leave off the missing "for those who can afford it."

Yessiree, bring back the harelip jokes.

Call it what it is. Crankonomics!

McInsane is a caricature of himself. He complained when Elizabeth Edwards, correctly, stated that neither she nor McInsane would be covered under his health plan, yet he turns around and eases the insurers burdens to underwrite preexisting conditions.

I'm sure the corporate media will be right out to point to that hypocrisy!

[crickets]

hey, be fair. If god wanted him to not have a cleft palate, he'd have made him that way. If god wanted him to fix his cleft palate, he'd have made them wealthy enough to pay for it. You didn't see Jesus hanging out with the poor, healing their injuries and illnesses, did you now?

bring back the harelip jokes.

"the marketplace will fill the void."

The answer I use for whack jobs like that is "If the free market could solve such problems without regulation, why didn't it do so before the regulations were instituted"?

This is not free market capitalism. This is highway robbery. It is the second coming of Warren G. Harding.

I heard the bit today about McCain wanting to offer $5,000 tax credits for families to purchase free market health insurance.

As mentioned earlier - McCain is clueless. As a single, self employed person, I was paying over $8,000/year and the cost had literally doubled over a period of 4 years.

Then people have to figure out what plan to buy. I finally found a professional association to join that would enable me to purchase health insurance (with a $7,000 hospital deductible) at a much lower cost. It wasn't easy to review all the plans and I'm a financial planner.

I guess this type of thing would keep me in business - but everytime I reviewed a policy it is likely my head would explode.

Yeah, the McCain plan is to give you a tax credit to buy health insurance in exchange for removing the tax write-off that businesses now currently use to buy your health insurance through a large group. That large group has substantial pricing power. You as an individual out there with a health insurance "voucher" has practically NO pricing power. This way health providers can feel free to charge you more money without the push-back from the large groups and guarantees the private insurers more profits.

Yeah gas tax holidays! what a splendid idea. While he's at it, where's my pony?

Economists are the problem, not the solution.

Northzax,

If god wanted him to not have a cleft palate, he'd have made him that way.

(sarcastic comment follows)

Obviously the Bible disputes this statement. If God decided who got the cleft lips then the incidence would be higher in black people and not lower.

I think someone needs to read the story of Noah and Ham a couple more times.

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