This is as it should be. No Medicare. No Medicaid.

I want my freedom to fund and ,manage my own health care. Why should the government be involved?

Just like I want the freedom to manage my own retirement funds. That has worked out so well.

Isn't it obvious? McCain is trying to throw the election. It's the only thing that makes sense.

A co-worker -- who is a "reformed Republican" (read: has more than two brain cells to rub together and, thus, is voting for Obama this year) asked me this morning why McCain is focusing on trivial crap when most Americans want actual solutions.

My response, as backed up by this story, was, "The McCain camp has decided to take a stand that pits itself against a majority of Americans. And once more details come out about his actual policies, he'll just get nastier and nastier because that's all he's got."

That was before I read about the Medicare/caid cuts. Let's hope the media picks up on this, the Obama camp runs ads in every district dominated by the senior set, and it's brought up at tomorrow's debate.

A game changer? So this means McCain goes from simple defeat to shameful, overwhelming defeat? Sounds like gravy to me! Mmmmmm...yummy gravy.

I wouldn't stop with pushing the message in South Florida---there's a whole lot of registered voters on Medicare/Medicaid nationwide.

McCain has tossed the baby out with the bathwater on this one; there is no "backpedal" mode, and he can't argue the taken-out-of-context meme on it, either. Is there anyone outside his organization of sycophantic schizoids who will vote for him in November?

Well---other than Bullwinkle Barbie and her secessionist groupies, that is....

If you're going on the Great Schlep for Obama, bring along a copy of WSJ's article.

Whatever it is The McSiah's running for, it ain't President.

A game changer? So this means McCain goes from simple defeat to shameful, overwhelming defeat? Sounds like gravy to me! Mmmmmm...yummy gravy.

The problem Obama has is a too-rich target environment. Hard to find and stick with one narrative.

I'm serious.

The real point here isn't t an illusory $1.3 trillion that Hon. Sen. McCain claims he can cut from Medicad, it's the idea that he makes these claims, releases no details, and can't explain why he hasn't tried cutting this before, or even right now, seeing as he is a sitting Senator. It's of a piece with is claiming to know how to win in Iraq and Afghanistan, but can't tell anyone now for some reason; we'll just have to trust him an wait till after the election. As Kevin says: you betcha!

McCain picked a good couple days to go negative and tell old people he wants to bend them over. Just as their 401ks are evaporating in front of them.

Out of touch, out of tune.

Health care, Social Security and now Medicare. Either McCain really thinks this election will be about William Ayres or he's completely off his game. Shredding the safety net when the trapeze itself is coming apart verges on insanity. But at least we can count on 60 Democratic senators.

Dow down over 700...I hope there's a country left for Obama to govern...

Quick! Turn the page!

http://www.johnmccain.com/Home2.htm

Check out the Washington Post Article about his royal POWness.

He most certainly doesn't want us to focus on his cuts to M and M, but rather his POW! (wow) POW! (wow) POW! (wow)...oww!

He lost five planes folks. He was not a good pilot. How can you trust him with Healthcare? The economy?

After reading the Cohn article, I'm not sure Palin is in the lower half of McCain's staff intellectually. Or the lower half of the ticket. In fact, while Bush certainly understands journalism more than Palin, Barney might understand economics better than Bush, McCain or Palin.

Dow down over 700. 2:34

800 at 2:45

Given the wipeout on Wall Street today, more and more seniors over the next couple of years are going to desperately need every inch of Medicare coverage they can get.

But it's become clearer and clearer over the past few weeks that while Obama planned for a 50-state campaign touching on a wide range of "kitchen table" issues, McCain planned to coast on his endorsement of the Surge and his POW narrative. Consequently his domestic policy proposals consisted of a bunch of mumbo-jumbo they threw together without even trying to argue that the numbers add up. They never even thought they'd be asked about it. Surge! POW! Petraeus! POW!

Man, the next two debates are going to be interesting.

I want my freedom to fund and ,manage my own health care. Why should the government be involved?

Because the government can do it more cheaply and effectively. The stupidity of the McInsane campaign is stunning. They were far better off talking about taxing employer-based premiums, however ill-conceived that may be, than to threaten seniors with their Medicare. This is suicidal.

This campaign has always reminded me of the ill-fated Dole campaign in 96. It makes you wonder if McInsane was just thrown up as fodder, in the hopes that the GOP could regroup in 2012. It just doesn't seem like they're trying.

Would you trust a politician who can't win an election because he's a screw-up to win a war based on everything he learned being held a POW for six years?

There is fraud in healthcare, but HHS has been combating it for a decade. The Office of Inspector General for HHS at its most aggressive only brings back a few billion a year in refunds and penalties from healthcare providers for fraud and abuse. Chump change in the grand scheme of things.

I remember that the GOP controlled congress shut down the government because Bill Clinton refused to cut medicare while cutting capital gains taxes.

The elderly and poor get hosed while the rich get richer.

Now... McCain proposes similar cuts, and not even the rich get a slice of the pie.

He's not even going to get PAID to sell out seniors!
Wasn't he taking notes in class?

Well... not to be a downer, but before everyone gets too excited about this Medicare "cut" of $130B a year, what are the projected increases to Medicare over the next ten years given the boomer population hitting retirement? If there are projected increases of hundreds of billions per year, then how would it be handled under an Obama administration? Raising taxes, I guess, potentially significantly, because of his campaign promises of balanced budget and reigning in the out-of-control spending of the Bush years.

Medicare is going to be a major problem from a funding perspective and I'm not sure a cut of $130B a year is going to be of much consequence given expected growth in Medicare costs.

Take it to South Florida? I say take it to West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, etc. etc.

South Florida isn't the only place with a lot of old people.

It's only his plan if he himself looks into the camera and says it's his plan. Even then maybe it's not his plan. He could even say it's his plan, own up to it entirely, and then close the interview claiming he never said it was his plan. "Do it to Julia!" we all cry, each one of us finally Winston Smith, broken and believing whatever we're told for we have to or perish.

After what we saw among voters in the WV Democratic primary, it would do my heart good to see Obama carry that state.

And this could do it.

This really isn't a bad idea. I myself am using a similar scheme to become the world's first trillionaire, by reducing my household spending by $1.8 trillion over three years. And because I currently don't spend anywhere near that amount of money, the savings would certainly make me a trillionaire by the time I was finished.

I'm going to start by reducing fraud, and then I'm going to improve my payment policies. I can't believe nobody thought of it sooner. Free money forever!

He's going to balance the budget by underfunding health programs for the elderly and the poor? Oh, thank God--I thought he might have to raid Bush's tax cuts for millionaires!

How much longer until the ads come out from Obama quoting this report on McCain cutting Medicare?

"He lost five planes folks. He was not a good pilot."

I don't think we should count the USS Forrestal fire, nor the plane lost to a SAM. But the other three crashes are fair game, and definitely suggest that McCain was reckless and/or incompetent as a pilot, and probably only his family connections saved him from being grounded.

The possibility that he lied to the crash investigators is even more troubling.

And even with those family connections, he didn't get promotion to high rank.

We can respect his courage and endurance as a POW, while still observing that his record as a pilot was mediocre at best.

As I recall, that's pretty much what candidate Schwarzenegger's plan was for balancing the budget in California; by identifying and eliminating waste. That's not exactly been a swimming success.

All while cutting taxes for the wealthy and big corporations?

Wow, I don't think I've seen one assertion by a candidate end an election since Mondale said he's raise taxes. I think this is it. I think it's over.

THanks for providing this insight, the sneaks are
still at it arent they. Now I can send email
messages out regarding this issue. Actually we
do not need either one of them in office, because
congress controls things any way. We learned that
in Civics class back many years ago.
Thanks again.
Duke of the Realm

We Aggies aren't noted for our brights, but it seems to me that in order to come up with his 1.3 trillion dollars, given that the total annual budget for Medicare is 457.5 million dollars, McCain will have to totally eliminate Medicare for about three years. Is that what he is proposing!? Will someone explain to me how my calculations are wrong?