SPOTLIGHT: Health Care

Reuters/Kevin Lamarque - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid speaks about health insurance reform on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Darrell M. West, October 28, 2009
"Opt-out” has become the most powerful phrase in the health care debate, thanks to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s decision to include it in Senate legislation. If particular jurisdictions do not like a public option, they simply can exit the government health insurance system for uninsured residents. This is a very American idea, writes Darrell West. However, from a governance standpoint, the public option creates a worrisome precedent for other policy areas.
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Health Care, U.S. Congress, U.S. Politics, Federalism
Courts

Reuters/Jonathan Ernst - A photo of the Prettyman Federal Court House in Washington.
Russell Wheeler, October 23, 2009
October 20, 2009 marked nine months since President Barack Obama took office. Russell Wheeler compares the nomination process for the courts of appeals and district courts of the George W. Bush administration with the current one, focusing on nominations made, hearings held, nominees confirmed and nominee characteristics. Wheeler reveals two striking findings: the relatively paucity of Obama administration nominees and the delay in full Senate action on those nominees.
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Courts, The Presidency, Judges, Justice and Law
U.S. Politics

Reuters/Jason Reed –U.S. President Barack Obama (C) enters to speak before a joint session of congress on Capitol Hill.
Charles O. Jones, October 27, 2009
Post-partisan politics is seen as providing a cure for whatever currently ails American politics. Charles Jones explores post-partisanship and the various forms of partisanship that currently exist in Washington. Although conventional wisdom tells us that we must move beyond partisanship, Jones concludes that partisanship continues to serve as the basis for the workings of American politics. Simply put, partisanship is the way lawmaking works in representative government.
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U.S. Politics, Politics, U.S. Congress, The Presidency
Health Care
Darrell M. West, October 08, 2009
Health care today is dominated by physicians, hospitals, the pharmaceutical industry, insurance companies and government agencies. However, imagine a different system where, with the aid of technology, the patient is in charge. Darrell West outlines a vision for a new health care system based on mobile health (mHealth), remote monitors, electronic medical records, social networking sites, video conferencing and Internet-based recordkeeping.
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Health Care, Health IT, Technology