Karl Rove, The Wall Street Journal, and Health Care

Yesterday's Wall Street journal contained a 788-word opinion piece by Karl Rove, former advisor to President George W. Bush:

As the latest government-heavy plan announced by Hillary Clinton yesterday once again shows, the answers politicians offer on health care highlight the deep differences between liberals and conservatives. This is a debate Republicans cannot avoid. But it is one we can win -- if we offer a bold plan. Conservatives must put forward reforms aimed at putting the patient in charge. Increasing competition will ensure greater access, lower costs and more innovation.

He goes on to present his ideas for reform, which include greater transparency of health care costs and data portability for health care records. The vast majority of his points stress using the forces of the free market to drive down health care costs through competition between providers.

The extensive similarities between Rove's ideas and presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's health care plan are noted in many places across the blogosphere, including Romney's campaign blog *:

After reading the entire article by Rove, does any reader of this blog doubt Governor Romney's strategic brilliance and his ability to execute against a strategic plan?

The maelstrom of debate and press releases continues as both parties attempt to assert dominance on the health care issue. Political commentator Susan Estrich of the Nashua Telegraph observes that the political jockeying is often seen as more gripping than the issues themselves:

It is a commentary on the state of American politics that more attention is being paid to the strategic goals that might loom behind Rove's comments than to the substance of the comments themselves.

Politics today, and political coverage, is much more about tactics than ideas, more focused on where candidates stand in the polls - even before anyone has actually voted - than where they stand on the issues.

* CORRECTION: Many thanks to Nate Gunderson of the Utah for Mitt Web Log for pointing out in the comments that this is actually an independent site and not the official campaign site. We apologize for allowing the error to slip through and appreciate the correction!

SOURCE: "Republicans Can Win on Health Care" 09/18/07
SOURCE: "Karl Rove: Republicans Can Win on Health Care" 09/18/07
SOURCE: "Rove's Parting Shot at Hillary Raises Questions" 09/20/07
photo courtesy of DoctorWho on Flickr remixed and used under this Creative Commons license