I despair of what Obama and Clinton can discuss on the 21st about the difference in their health plans. Promises to be insomnia cure for all. In their present form, neither of these plans would be supported by the Independents, much less more moderate Republicans.

What may be a more interesting discussion is how they intend to bridge the gap with the Independents who clearly hold the key to successful health care reform.

You would think we could start having a fresh conversation with so many new books which interestingly enough have considerable consensus on some key issues--Shannon Brownlee's Overtreated and George Halvorson's Health Care Reform Now, and of course his earlier, Epidemic of Care.

Our research findings on what the public values in health care from Iowa and Washington are identical. These two states are mirror images of each other. Only one issue had any statistically significant difference. That is phenominal when you consider the major differences between these two Red and Blue states.

It is time for a new and fresh conversation rather than remaining stuck in the old, failed party lines.

Health care reform has failed since 1932 and the Report on the Committee on the Cost of Medical Care (I have a copy!).

Health care reform is truly bi-partisain. It has failed under Truman, Nixon and Clinton. Don't you think we would learn something by this time?