I find it both dumb and inexplicable that the Obama campaign continues to circulate the blatantly inaccurate anti-Hillary healthcare flier. Obama has three main things going for him: he gives great speeches, he has run an unprecedentedly positive campaign, and he has a set of proposals that are essentially the same as Hillary’s. So, why would he throw away one of the three main ingredients of his success? I guess it is simply that Obama is no exception to the rule that all politicians disappoint us sooner or later.
Obama knows that the essence of the flier is a flat-out lie – the accusation that Hillary will force those who cannot afford health insurance to purchase it against their will. This has been publicly pointed out to him. To continue to use the flier is indefensible:
At issue Friday was a flier - mailed in recent days to homes around the state - saying Clinton's health care plan would force "everyone to buy insurance, even if you can't afford it." Similar mailings distributed in other states have prompted a feud between the candidates and a testy exchange at a debate in Ohio this week.
Former Wyoming Secretary of State Kathy Karpan said the flyer was meant to scare the same people who would benefit from Clinton's plan.
"I think what was particularly troubling ... was the statement that Hillary Clinton would go after people's wages and force them to buy coverage they can't afford," said Karpan, a member of the Clinton campaign state steering committee.Link
What Hillary actually proposes is pretty much the opposite of what Obama claims:
Senator Clinton’s plan will:
Provide Tax Relief to Ensure Affordability: Working families will receive a refundable tax credit to help them afford high-quality health coverage.
Limit Premium Payments to a Percentage of Income: The refundable tax credit will be designed to prevent premiums from exceeding a percentage of family income, while maintaining consumer price consciousness in choosing health plans. link