Hold the presses: Bill Kristol agrees with the unlegislation!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Bill Kristol
www.thedailyshow.com
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It's right there, at 5.16 into the segment.

He says:

BK: It's a very bad plan. It's unnecessary. There are lots of things you can fix in the American health care system without completely overhauling it and trying to micromanage it from Washington.

[Has he been having coffee with Atul Gawande?]

JS: What's a nice targeted thing?

BK: Insurance fixes so you can't discriminate against people with preexisting conditions, make it easier to keep your...

And then, the public option:

JS: Would you like to see a public option?

BK: No.

JS: Now why not? Why shouldn't the government provide some level of care for the 50 million uninsured?

BK: The government does have Medicaid for the poor, and there are many proposals, and there already are some subsidies for people to buy health insurance, uh, who can't afford to... one reason the price of health care is going up so fast is because of the government programs, the price of Medicare and Medicaid have gone up faster than private insurance [wait, really?], so the more government you have, the faster the prices are going to go up, and that's pretty well-documented over the last 20, 30 years, and then you're going to have to try to control costs, and that's going to lead to rationing. It is a bad plan.

JS: So you don't believe, no public option? So even though that's good enough for the military, not good enough for the people of America?

BK: Well, the military has a different health system than the rest of America.

JS: It's a public system, no?

BK: Yeah, they don't have an option and they're all in military health care.

JS: Why don't we go with that then?

[Gotcha'!]

BK: [nods head to the left, eh, you maybe got me there] Is military health care really what you -- well, first of all, it's expensive, I think they deserve it, the military, I'm not sure --

JS: But the American public do not?

BK: No. The American public do [sic] not deserve the health care American soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan deserve, and they need all kinds of things that the rest of us don't need.

JS: Well, no, they can have a level of care, but are you saying that the American public shouldn't have access to the same quality health care that we give to our better citizens?

BK: Yes. To our soldiers? Absolutely. The American public --

JS: Really?

BK: I think one thing, if you become a soldier --

JS: Should they have nicer houses?

BK: They don't have as nice houses, Jon. They get paid less --

JS: No, I'm saying, should they?

BK: They get paid less so one of the ways we make it up to the soldiers is -- and since they are risking their lives -- is we give them first class health care, the rest of us can go out and buy insurance -- as 90% of us have -- as 90% of us have --

JS: I just want to get this on the record, Bill Kristol just said --

BK: I feel that you've trapped me somehow [smiling, naturally] --

JS: That the government can run a first-class health care system

BK: Sure it can.

JS: A government-run health care system is better than --

BK: No [shaking his head and smiling] --

JS: the private health care system.

BK: I think of it, I don't know that it's better, I don't know if it's better but --

JS: No, you just said that it's better.

BK: The military, I don't know if it's better all around --

JS: No, you said it was better. You said it's the best. The military, it's a little more expensive, but it's better.

BK: The military need different kinds of health care than --

JS: I just want to get this straight [writing on a notecard] --

BK: Note that down.

JS: The government run is the best health care.

BK: I will support you in arguing for better health care for the military if they are in any way being deprived that.

JS: I understand that. So what you are suggesting is that the government could run the best health care system for Americans but it's a little too costly and so we should have the [censored] insurance company health care.

BK: What I am suggesting is that --

JS: Or, no health care.

BK: Our soldiers deserve better health care than --

JS: They deserve the best.

BK: because they are risking their lives --

JS: I agree.

BK: and they are not in the same situation as all the rest of us, and --

JS: They have the best government-run health care money can buy.

BK: [pause... you can hear pins dropping and breath held] That could be. I hope they do. I'm not sure the VA, for example, which is another government agency has the best --

JS: Don't try and back out of this, brother, you're gone.

BK: has the best heath care. I'm not sure Medicaid and Medicare, which are government programs, provide the absolute best health care --


Ah. So, we're getting closer to the truth. Some of us deserve it, and some of us don't.

American soldiers deserve it because they are risking their lives for our country.

And US congressmen and women and senators deserve theirs because?
....