Harry and Louise have mellowed

Harry and Louise are back.

Remember them? They were trotted out during the height of HillaryCare in the 1990s. People who believed that Mrs. Clinton’s purpose was to move us to government-run health care used the ads to stop her in her tracks.

Harry and Louise appear to have mellowed.

You can see it for yourself at http://www.harryandlouisereturn.com/. This is the newest ad, and it is meant to throw resolution of health care into the lap of the next president.

From where I sit, asking the politicians to solve the health care dilemma is a prescription for problems. Every time they step in to help, it gets more complicated and expensive.

The ad, however, takes no explicit sides. But since it prominently mentions access to care and affordability of health insurance, it tries to set the debate.

These are real problems, and they need real solutions. The political arena is the worst place to get this done, although it obviously cannot be ignored.

Political leaders use health care reform to gain votes. Those who are serious, like Mrs. Clinton, are the ones who will advance their government solutions based on the appearance of a groundswell of support.

The answer to what ails U.S. health care lies primarily in two areas: We must become healthier. We must become involved in paying for, and therefore knowing about, the cost of care.

Politicians are building the case to tell us how to live, what to eat, where to go, and what to do. That runs contrary to traditional U.S. culture. Maybe Americans have become passive enough to accept top down directives. What do you think?

Clearly, most top down health reform points toward mandatory coverage, forcing more people to pay more to do more and will end up costing more. For certain, politicians cannot solve the spending problem by managing spending.