Obama & The Competitive Principle

I’m not qualified to offer an opinion* on Obama’s health care speech last night. So I won’t, beyond observing that his refusal to countenance the possibility that the kind of reforms he wants don’t involve any trade-offs of any sort was, even by Presidential standards, unfortunate and, frankly, enough to make one suspect that there’s something missing. But it’s healthcare, Jake. You know?

However, I did like this line:

My guiding principle is, and always has been, that consumers do better when there is choice and competition.

Meanwhile, on this side of the Atlantic, the situation is reversed: the Tories have some interesting and principled ideas for reforming education but are terribly reluctant to apply those ideas and principles to the National Health Service.