A Pair To Think About

Two health care stories from ABC News tonight.  First, Rush Limbaugh is out of the hospital and is doing fine, apparently.

Limbaugh, who made no public statements during his two days in the hospital, added that he is "grateful that this happened as it did."

Limbaugh was admitted to Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu on Wednesday afternoon after he experienced chest pains while vacationing in Hawaii. According to Limbaugh, doctors could not determine the exact cause of his pain.

The right wing talk radio king used the moment for a political shot at President Obama's massive effort to reform health care, saying he got the best medical care "right here in the United States of America." "I don't think there's one thing wrong with the United States health system," he said.

Nothing wrong with our health care system...if you have the kind of money Rush Limbaugh does.  39-year old Bill Caudle doesn't.  He lost his job and had to join to Army to get health insurance for his wife, who is being treated with chemo for ovarian cancer.  A father of three who is making a hell of a sacrifice...perhaps the ultimate sacrifice, as he's going to Afghanistan...just to be able to afford health care for his wife.

But there's not one thing wrong with our system.

Not one thing.  If you're El Rushbo, that is.

[UPDATE 11:07 PM]  Steve M. has an excellent take on this.

But Limbaugh knows that, at least to part of the country, his let-them-eat-cake statement actually sounds plausible. To these people, Limbaugh isn't an Ivy League, big-city elitist, even if he is filthy rich and incredibly influential. To them, the insiders are "liberal elitists" like the president of the United States and all Democrats (every one of whom is, by definition, a real or honorary big-city latte-swilling elitist) ... as well as every poor, uninsured person who needs health care. In the wingnut narrative, that's the enemy: the unholy alliance of the elite and the unwashed. The elite, you see, use the poor as a weapon to destroy civilization as hard-working, rock-ribbed regular Americans know it. And one of the most regular, most non-elite guys around is ... Rush Limbaugh! He didn't go to Harvard! He isn't a swell! He's just a regular guy from Missouri!

So when Limbaugh says the health system works, part of America thinks he's really qualified to judge. It doesn't ring false at all. They don't even recognize the completely reversal of class roles embodied in Limbaugh's statement.

If I'm right about this, we live in a very sick country.

Agreed.   Very sick.