Cold-hearted bastard

Not that it's a surprise, but I'm still capable of being amazed that anyone supports this sociopath. Yes, he actually did say this on Tuesday:

The immediate goal is to make sure there are more people on private insurance plans. I mean, people have access to health care in America. After all, you just go to an emergency room.

After all, why should George W. Bush waste his beautiful mind on such things?

More:

I like the idea of people making decisions that are -- that will, one, enhance their health, and two, save money. The doc told me that -- we were looking at one of these brilliant heart guys working for him. You're not going to believe the technology in this hospital, by the way. If you're a Cleveland resident, you ought to be proud of this hospital. It's unbelievable. (Applause.)

He said something pretty wise, though. He said, you can have all the technology that man can conceivably create, but if you continue to smoke, we're going backwards. If you're not exercising, if you're not taking care of the body yourself, all the technology isn't going to save your life. In other words, there is a certain responsibility that we have as citizens to take care of ourselves. And a health savings account actually provides a financial incentive for you to do that.

I lost a family member to cancer in 2000. He was 75 years old. He didn't smoke, he ate moderately, was active, worked hard, took care of himself. And died of cancer. His two brothers, both significantly older, are still alive. Dana Reeve never smoked and died of lung cancer eleven days before her 45th birthday.

There are people who smoke who live to be 90. There are people who never smoke who die young. There are thin people who die young and fat people who live to a ripe old age.

And there are people who live paycheck-to-paycheck and don't have disposable income for "health saving accounts" to pay for care in an inflated-cost system. Bush is right that if you don't take at least some care of your body, medical technology is of limited use. But there are no hard and fast rules as to what constitutes taking care of any particular body. What I see coming out of Bush's Darwinian notions of the kind of health care we are entitled to expect is one in which smokers, anyone whose BMI is over 25, anyone who doesn't work out 25 hours a week, or any of a number of completely arbitrary and largely irrelevant "benchmarks" of "taking care of oneself" will be thrown into the health care garbage.

But hey. They have health care. They can always go to the emergency room.

(via Amanda)