Matt Welch of Reason magazine had a good line in the Reason Foundation's recent e-mail promo. He referred to those Americans who are still reserving judgment on health care reform as "on the fence but off Sarah Palin's e-mail list."
Those Americans are not the ones who fall for "death panel" nonsense. Nor, if they have a bleeding ulcer, broken arm or bursitis, do they much care for bracing debates pitting socialists versus free-marketers. That's entertaining, even enlightening, but it doesn't set a broken bone. They have doubts about the president's plan, but that doubt isn't writ in stone.
Americans want good care. They see the sense in preventive care. They want their kids covered. They want a system that doesn't break the bank -- their own or the nation's.
And when push comes to shove, they don't much care whether they get it through their employer, Uncle Sam, a co-op, an option, an exchange or a flea market. Just so it works -- better than what we have now, and with more Americans covered.
President Obama had at least three things right in his speech Wednesday night. One, we can't sustain the system we have now. Two, we can build a better one. Three, we'll do it on the strength of a call to what's right. The president invoked Ted Kennedy. He could have invoked that Republican icon Teddy Roosevelt, who called for the "square deal" that every honest citizen deserved.
That American desire for fair play, and some down-to-earth sense, has taken a beating in the political storm over health care reform. But if the president keeps that in his sights, he ought to outlast the screamers and bring enough Americans off the fence to get this job done.
BOTTOM LINE: Open-minded skepticism about health care reform can produce a stronger final result.