The campaign trail

Well, after a resoundingly flat speech on Iraq, why not head to enemy territory to talk healthcare? That's just what President Bush did, choosing to visit a college in Youngstown rather than causing another factory or healthcare clinic to close.

How bad are things in Ohio? While the rest of the country has seen unemployment begin to fall, Ohio lost another 225,000 jobs in April, the rate up to 5.8 percent from 5.7 percent. Healthcare costs have risen close to 14%, with income growth somewhere around 3%. Of course, John Kerry would be willing to help with these figures, and a few more.(thank Kos for the link)

What did the president have to say? From the Houston Chronicle:

Making the 17th trip of his presidency to the state, Bush told a crowd of health care professionals that it is important to achieve his five-year goal of opening or expanding 1,200 health centers to serve more than 6 million people. The Youngstown Community Health Clinic treats mostly uninsured patients in this blue-collar city hit hard by job losses.

"This is part of the safety net, a wise expenditure of taxpayers' money," the president said. "We're trying to get up to serving 16 million people." The president said the health centers are cost-efficient alternatives to unnecessary visits to hospital emergency rooms.

With some experience in the health care field, I can say that poor uninsured people will still go to the ER for treatment. The 911 system are happy to give them a ride, and most people haven't realized that the ambulance service is mostly privatized. At least, that is, until they get their bill.

That aside, perhaps the reason for all these "unecessary visits" has been pegged. It is the veterans fault:

Kerry has hammered Bush on health care for military veterans in Ohio in recent days because the Veterans Affairs Department is planning to close a hospital in the state under a major restructuring that will close three hospitals, build two new ones, upgrade some facilities and build 156 community-based outpatient clinics across the country by 2012.

John Kerry's people respond furthur,(via Bloomberg):

``What he is doing with community health care centers, while marginally helpful, is not even close to covering the ever- deepening, broadening gap in health-care coverage,'' Representative Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from the Cleveland area, said on a conference call arranged by the Kerry campaign.

and

Bush's plans to change health care coverage might bring benefits to 2 million people, while Department of Health and Human Services statistics show 4 million more Americans lack insurance now than when Bush took over, said Chris Jennings, a former health policy adviser to President Bill Clinton, told reporters on the Kerry campaign call.

``We can do better, we must do better, and under a new administration, I believe we can,'' Jennings said.

And how has Kerry's message echoed in this area? Well, he's up in the polls. But the darned liberal media puts its ugly opinion into why. From Reuters:

In this Democratic bastion, voters have plenty of doubts and misgivings about John Kerry but agree wholeheartedly on what they like about him -- he's not President Bush.

Bush's Democratic challenger for the White House might be a blue-blood Ivy Leaguer who voted for the North American Free Trade Agreement, a hugely unpopular pact in the economically decimated Mahoning Valley, but most will forgive him if he reclaims the White House for Democrats.

"The enthusiasm may not be there for Kerry, but there is a great enthusiasm for getting rid of Bush, and that is going to send Kerry to the White House," said Jim Graham, president of United Auto Workers Local 1112 in nearby Lordstown.

If you are from Ohio and want to get involved, or want to stay informed by a Democractic delegate to the sate try Jerry Springer's blog. Yes, that Jerry Springer.