Editorial: A healthy debate

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, June, 2009

President Obama has demonstrated that on the most heated political issues, he can be shrewdly pragmatic, often to the frustration of both liberals and conservatives.

That is certainly the case as Obama adjusts his game plan for what he calls a "make or break period" in moving health-care legislation through Congress over the second half of this year. 

That explains why Obama recently backed off a campaign pledge not to tax the health benefits of working Americans.

As the president noted in a letter to Senate leaders, the goal is "quality, affordable health care for all Americans." 

That means finding a way to cover the nation's 46 million uninsured, as well as reducing the staggering health-care costs. Those costs threaten household and government budgets...