McCain Health-Care Article Fuels New Clash Over Economy

By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 21, 2008; A07

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Sept. 20 -- An article about health care published
in an obscure journal led to a new skirmish Saturday between the
campaigns of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain over who
should be trusted with the ailing economy.

The article included a favorable reference to banking deregulation that,
in light of this week's near-meltdown in the financial industry,
provided an irresistible target for Sen. Obama's campaign and once again
put Sen. McCain on the defensive. McCain's campaign accused Obama of
manufacturing an attack by deliberately misreading the Republican's words.

The article, which appeared under McCain's name, was published in
Contingencies magazine, which is produced under the auspices of the
American Association of Actuaries. In it, McCain touted his plans for
increasing competition in health care as one way to expand coverage and
reduce costs.

***McCain wrote, "Opening up the health insurance market to more
vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in
banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened
by the worst excesses of state-based regulation."***

Obama, appearing at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, mocked
his rival for sounding out of touch at a time when Washington is moving
rapidly to re-regulate the financial industry to curb the excesses that
put the system into near-paralysis this week.

"So let me get this straight -- he wants to run health care like they've
been running Wall Street," Obama told the audience. "Well, Senator, I
know some folks on Main Street who aren't going to think that's such a
good idea."

The Obama campaign first learned of the McCain article when New York
Times columnist Paul Krugman referenced it on Friday. Since then,
officials in the campaign have spread its contents as quickly as possible.

McCain's campaign, caught off guard by over the uproar caused by the
article, called the criticism from Obama a red herring. What McCain was
referring to, one of his advisers said, was the change in regulations
that allowed banks to operate across state lines, thereby opening up
more competition while providing easier access to services for consumers.


(Yeah, sure, McCain. We believe you. And Sarah Palin killed the bridge
to nowhere.)




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