Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Krugman - Who's Naive?

Paul Krugman calls Barack Obama naive with regard to his health care plan, in contrast to John Edwards. ("Big Table Fantasies." Krugman argues that Edwards wants to fight entrenched businesses, while Obama wants to work with them. One could argue one approach is as naive as another, but the crux of Krugman's argument seems to be not that Obama does not understand that the businesses need to be fought, because Krugman quotes Obama saying they do, but that Obama does not have a plan to do so:

He writes:

As a result, drug and insurance companies — backed by the conservative movement as a whole — will be implacably opposed to any significant reforms. And what would Mr. Obama do then? "I’ll get on television and say Harry and Louise are lying," he says. I’m sure the lobbyists are terrified.

Well, yes, presumably drug and insurance companies will be also be implacably opposed to any significant reforms proposed by John Edwards as well.

What will Edwards do? Krugman does not say.

So who is really naive?

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