3 Greetings, this is podcast number 84 of Blast the Right.

Today we're going to talk about the prospects for universal healthcare in America, making sure no one lacks health insurance.

We'll focus less on the nuts and bolts and more on the public attitude towards this issue.

The conclusion will be the public is solidly on our progressive side.

Let's get right into it. My sources are articles and columns in the New York Times, McKinsey.com, USAToday.com, and the website of the Federal Advisory Body, the Institute of Medicine.

I talk a lot on Blast the Right about the moral imperative to reduce human misery suffering pain and death, which right-wing policies don't do.

In fact, the rule of thumb is right-wing policies increase human misery suffering pain and death.

For a couple of examples, check out my year-end podcast number 74 where I review some of the worst things the right-wing did in 2006 as covered by Blast the Right.

Included among their gifts to America in 2006 were increased poverty, mining deaths, cancer and lung disease.

A major arena where human misery suffering pain and death can be alleviated is health care.

If you're sick and don't receive adequate care, well, there's almost nothing worse than that.

If you're sick and do receive adequate health care, there's almost nothing better than that.

To my way of thinking, therefore, and I'm sure to many of you out there as well, making sure every American has health insurance to ensure adequate medical care

is a class A high priority moral imperative.

Yet, as virtually always seems to be the case, right-wingers are on the opposite side.

As I discussed in podcast 79, George Bush's proposal to improve our health care system, which he still runs around shamelessly promoting,

leaves 90% of the problem unsolved.

It doesn't help blowing come workers who are the vast majority of the uninsured, nor will it assist those higher income workers denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions.

There are 47 million Americans without health care coverage.

By the White House's own admission, George Bush's plan will at most cover only about one in ten of them.

Bush's proposal would leave over 89% of the uninsured in America uninsured.

How do you feel about that? Angry? Disgusted? How does the public feel about that?

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