It's never too early to start campaigning for president. And aren't Sundays supposed to be a day of rest? Not for these egos.

seems as if the rumors might be true

I applaud Kitzhaber and everybody else involved for launching the Archimedes Movement. And yes, I think he'd probably make a good president... but I don't think that's relevant right now. The important thing is to fix health care in Oregon. Use that to launch a national conversation on it. And once health care is fixed, the cost savings will go a long way to jump-starting the economy by lowering the cost of government and the cost of doing business... assuming everything works out right.

Yes, the Dean campaign bombed in Iowa, but, in fairness to Trippi, he's done a lot of great work on a lot of campaigns. He played an important role in Walter Mondale's victory in Iowa in '84 when Mondale won 50%, more than his 7 rivals combined. Whenver a candidate loses, the blame game becomes a big game. I don't think it's at all fair to say that Trippi "single-handledly blew Iowa." There are always many factors involved, and Dean peaking too soon and receving a lot of bad press in late '03 early '04 proabably did him in as much as anything. I'm glad that Trippi is coming out to help promote this important issue.

Sorry, but I don't think Trippi singlehandedly blew Iowa as suggested above. I do think the nastiness level of Dean vs. Gephardt allowed an opening for Edwards to come in second and probably for Kerry as well--for voters who wanted a positive vision. There was a story I remember reading about how so many famous national reporters missed the Edwards Iowa story because they had a tradition of meeting every 4 years at a particular steakhouse in Des Moines at a particular time in the days prior to the caucuses, and they weren't going to let any Grange Hall appearance by Edwards change their plans.

But there are lots of famous consultants and staffers who've had their share of losses in primaries or general elections. Look at Mary Beth Cahill--lost AuCoin in 1992 and Kerry in 2004, but I'll bet there are still some who admire her. I'll take someone like Trippi over Cahill any day of the week. I happen to be a fan of Trippi--he has the vision right even if he didn't win in Iowa. Dean went from insurgent to front runner too fast, and I think that had a lot to do with it.

You asked for input about health care; here is my view.

I agree, that we need a more equitable health care system. As it stands, if you happen to be a government employee working at any level in government, you have access to affordable medical coverage. If you are poor enough, or an illegal immigrant, you also get medical care. However, if you are not one of the above, and working without the luxury of your employer providing healthcare insurance for you and your family, or you lose your job through downsizing, outsourcing, or you retired with health insurance as part of your retirement agreement and your company decides to renege its commitment, then you could potentially end up losing everything you have worked for, just to pay for medical care for you and your family.

The cost of medical insurance and medical care is obscene, worst than the greediest of the oil companies, making their billions.

Why is healthcare so expensive? Is it the middle man of healthcare, the HMO’s, and the big drug companies reaping huge profits from the inattention and complacency of insurance companies who pass this cost on to companies, then the company who ultimately raises premiums to their workers, and at some point, they can no longer afford to offer health insurance. Is it the inequities of our taxation system? Government employees, and non-profit organizations not paying their share in contributing to Social Security, which contributes to Medicaid, which ultimately helps pay for the indigent and elderly. Is it corporate greed that wants cheap labor and hires and exploits the illegal immigrant and lets the rest of us subsidized his and his family’s health care? Is it because individuals abuse and overuse medical services instead of taking responsibility in prevention and living healthier lifestyles?

A fair system would be a universal health care system, where we all have access to the same system. This means all government employees, including our president and members of congress, the elderly, disabled, the indigent, the military, and our veterans. All working men and women regardless of who or where they work, would contribute, as well as their employer, (even if the employer happens to be a government agency) to a health insurance pool. In addition, we would all pay co-pays per doctors visit, even the poor. A co-pay would perhaps discourage abuse and frivolous visits. Preventive medicine and education would be a cornerstone in helping to maintain costs and the financial solubility of such a system. And last, oversight and accountability from hospitals, medical providers and drug companies to prevent exorbitant and unreasonable costs.

<h2>Frankly I don't see Kitzhaber running for president, and I think it would be a mistake if he did. I could easily see him as Secty of the Interior, where he could make a huge difference in the areas that are important to him - healthcare and the environment. But I remember one of the reasons he decided not to run against Smith for US Senate in 2001 was that he didn't like the direction things were going - didn't want to spend all his time living in DC and dealing with things like Sept 11 and the imminent war on Afghanistan. Kitzhaber has little passion for international relations, a very important function of any US president.</h2>