You and I often disagree, but I have always respected you and your thoughts anyway. And so it's good to actually find common ground on you with this.

Of course, I think the best solution is universal single-payer care, getting insurance out of the process entirely, and I fault Obama for not backing it.

However, you are absolutely dead on in your criticism of the individual mandate. It is a terrible, disastrous plan, no matter who is offering it - and I find it utterly damning that the so-called progressive champion of the middle class, John Edwards, would have the fucking IRS garnish people's wages for not being a part of this system.

We can, and should, say more about Massachusetts. 200,000 uninsured is a large number for that state and suggests that their plan is a failure on its face. But it gets worse. What coverage people can afford, the minimum, comes with so little of health care actually covered that it is barely a step above junk insurance. For health insurance that actually would help someone the costs are quoted at around $4,000-$5,000, which is totally unacceptable.

Many throw around "subsidy" and "tax credit" and "public option" but these are fundamentally flawed lipstick on a pig. The public option has massive problems - it will not be able to compete on an open market with private insurance. Insurers will find ways to dump the sick onto the public option. That will drive up the costs of the public option, and that causes a fiscal crisis. Either premiums have to go up - making the public option uncompetitive - or a tax bailout has to happen, causing a serious political problem.

And a mandate does NOTHING to address the problems of insurers screwing over their policyholders by denying care and payment. Both Markos and his wife Elisa have had problems with this with Blue Cross. In September I wrote a diary that hit the top of the rec list about Blue Cross classifying a miscarriage as an "elective abortion" so as to get out of paying for it. Edwards' and Hillary's plan would not only do nothing to curb these horrific abuses, but would force people into this system.

There are many more problems with a mandate but I'll leave it there for now. Mandates are bad, bad, bad, bad public policy. It is a shame that good Kossacks feel the need to take leave of their senses and defend them just because their chosen candidate has offered mandates. Obama's plans are insufficient, but hey, at least he respects the basic dictum of medical care: first, do no harm.

Great job, Elise.