During a discussion of abortion in the final presidential debate, Republican John McCain shocked millions of Americans with his sneering remarks and derisive air quotes when it came to the "health of the mother." Now as he prepares to leave office, President George W. Bush is making that condescension towards American women the law of […]

When it comes to blocking Barack Obama's health care plan, what is old is new for the conservative movement. Fearing a permanent Democratic majority if Bill Clinton succeeded in passing his health care reform package, Bill Kristol in 1993 famously authored a memo urging Republicans to halt it at all costs. Now in the wake […]

Bloggers left and right took notice Monday of Sarah Palin's seeming split with running mate John McCain over the Federal Marriage Amendment. But overlooked in Palin's announcement that she supports a constitutional ban on same sex marriage is that hers - and not McCain's - is the official position of the Republican Party platform. In […]

In an interview with CBS' Katie Couric Wednesday, Cindy McCain seemed surprised to learn that her husband John wants to see Roe v. Wade overturned. But as it turns out, the surprises hardly end there for the McCains when it comes to abortion and the 2008 Republican platform. By rejecting John McCain's limited proposed exemptions […]

As I've noted previously, what passes for John McCain's health care plan is virtually identical to the stillborn scheme from George W. Bush. Now, the McCain campaign has joined President Bush and indicted former House Majority Leader Tom Delay in offering a novel solution - denial - to the problem of America's 46 million uninsured. […]

In 2007, Americans learned that they had relinquished their 200-year hold on the title of world's tallest people. Now a devastating new report shows that across a growing range of indicators of health, wealth and education, Americans simply aren't measuring up. The "Measure of America" study by the American Human Development Project (funded by Oxfam […]

President Bush this week played a game of chicken on Medicare - and lost. Congress easily overrode Bush's veto of legislation designed to prevent an 11% cut in physicians' compensation under the health care program for elderly Americans. And speaking of chicken, John McCain was nowhere to be found. On June 26, Congressional Republicans led […]

In a disturbing report on Wednesday, CBS News offered Americans a glimpse of their health care future under President Bush, John McCain and their Republican allies. Detailing two cases of patients dying untreated and unnoticed in New York and Los Angeles emergency rooms, the story shows the exceptions that may increasingly become the rule. Call […]

A year after he admitted "you've stumped me" when asked whether contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV, John McCain once again finds himself in the AIDS spotlight. On Wednesday, Americans learned that arch-conservative Tom Coburn (R-OK) is blocking Senate action on a proposed tripling of President Bush's global AIDS program. That would be the […]

Over the past several days, a flurry of stories has raised red flags about the prospects for state-based health care mandates. On Saturday, the AP reported that soaring costs are buffeting the pioneering insurance mandate program in Massachusetts. Just days earlier, the New York Times described a Massachusetts primary care system now swamped with new […]