I probably liked John McCain's acceptance speech a little more than some of the people in that hall did…and for the same reason. He didn't spend most of it demonizing Democrats and selling the idea that the world must be saved from Evil Liberals. There was a little of that, and you expect a little of that, but for the most part, he was Good Cop to Sarah Palin's Bad Cop. Some of the right-wing bloggers this morning are complaining that the ticket isn't Bad Cop-Bad Cop.
Still, there was plenty in McCain's shpiel to argue about. One part that leaped out at me was when he said…
[Obama's] plan will force small businesses to cut jobs, reduce wages, and force families into a government-run health care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor.
The obvious response to that, and it's 100% valid, is that John McCain has spent almost his entire life receiving health care from a government-run system. For most of it, he could have afforded to go to any doctor in the country. Instead, he accepts the government-run system and tells us that at age 72, he's in great shape.
Obama's plan actually has an exemption for small businesses and a provision by which they can receive a Small Business Health Tax Credit to encourage them to offer health care to their employees. There would be nothing stopping anyone who can afford it from keeping exactly the same health plan they currently have. (You can read a summary of his proposals on this page.)
And I wonder if anyone in a non-government-run health care system has ever found any bureaucracy standing between them and their doctor. I hear rumors that once in a while, private health plans refuse to pay for things they're supposed to pay for.