Third Culture Kid(s)

My dad was kvetching over lunch about how the Democrats weren’t even allowing Dubya to participate in some of their pet programs - that it’s basically a case of damned-if-he-does-damned-if-he-doesn’t that wasn’t fair to the President.

While I’ve just about had it up to here [which would be a point roughly corresponding to the tops of my ears] with politics of every kind, it seems to me that what the Democrats are objecting to isn’t so much the usurping of pet projects by an otherwise well-intentioned President, but a kind of jumping-on-the-bandwagon for what seem to be largely political purposes (well, that and because what he’s proposing - at least in the case of health insurance - falls more in the category of “Band-Aid” than “solution).

The NYT has a neat little application on their website today that tells you the history of certain words that Bush has used in previous addresses to Congress. A telling one is that for “(Health) Insurance”:

Because, you know, damned if it only seems to pop up in any meaningful way when elections are either imminent (2004) or went very, very badly (2007) . Is it really any surprise that the Democrats have a hard time believing all his lofty goals for improved health care?*

*National health insurance is a big thing of mine. I’ve experienced it in three different countries (Japan, Australia, Canada), and it’s worked like clockwork every time. Of course there are abuses - you’re not going to find a solution that doesn’t have potential abuses built into the system. But it’s fair and it symbolizes our commitment to helping people who need it, not just people who can pay for it. Hmph.