Kid, I share your pessimism on this issue, but what made me think a little differently is the history of good bills and ammendments. Take slavery for example, or the women's right to vote. I'm sure at the time there was widespread opposition and plenty of what-if fear mongering, but we're all better for it, now.

I agree that universal healthcare is and should be a basic human right. It really is a travesty that we are the only Western nation that can't muster the political will to pass something, anything, to alleviate the injustice of the current privatized system. Before Canada passed it's version, it wasn't all that popular either, but as you can clearly see, there aren't many Canadians today who would be rid of it.

I do hope something decent passes, so that we can get on with some of the other big issues in our world (like those two wars we're fighting, global warming, world hunger, the economy, Honduras, Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, and the Middle East peace process, which is actually closer to some kind of resolution that it has been since the creation of the State of Israel. I'm just naming a few things that come to mind, jeez. After the healthcare bill passes, I also hope it's amended and improved to curb excessive costs, corruption, greed, and graft, and to give it some real teeth. But let's pass it first. The opposition appears to be fading. Yes, Limbaugh, O'Reiley, and the Fox News gang are still crying socialism, but who really believes those loons anymore?

Let's move on already.