OF COURSE Obama should get the "Jimmy Carter, Al Gore" award. What better way for the Internationals to make fun of America?!

BubbaGump does a fine job of including the Lawyer Lobby line ... "the larger point is that malpractice accounts for less than 1% of health care costs". He/She pretends not to know about the significant and real costs of DEFENSIVE MEDICINE. Conscientious physicians over-treat and over-test to lessen their chances of being tarred and feathered by a frivolous, unfair lawsuit.

Maybe they, with their precious 60 votes, have set up their own hangings for next November.

There's much discussion about how each stakeholder needs to sacrifice ... 'providers', Big Pharma, Insurance companies, medical device makers, employers, even patients. But nobody seems to care about the self-centered Lawyer Lobby. NO signifiant attempt to restrain the 'malpractice' industry has been suggested. "Let's reduce healthcare costs ... but, Oh, don't do anything to reduce the monies spent on lawyers."

Karl B is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. (And he hides behind a 72-page, three-year-old Congressional Report). The fear of being (unfairly) sued plays an intimate role in every doctor-patient relationship. A significant percentage of clinical tests and events are rung up NOT because common medical sense dictates them, but rather because of the realization "some day a slick lawyer might bludgeon a jury into believing some different step should have been taken". Karl's probably a lawyer.

The professor says, "It is time for all of us to move on, and to assess what we can learn from this experience." He is the one who needs to "learn" something and change his attitude; calm down and get rid of the chip on his shoulder. Recognize a peace officer as exactly that, and show him or her the proper respect (no matter who you are).

Printed newspapers are dying, and I agree with most of the reasons identified in all these comments. But yet, newspapers might be saved by the galloping cancer of intrusive adds on ALL Internet sites....Townhall.com included. Pop-ups, shimmering & gyrating off-side banners, misleading hot links, sudden overlying messages, and on & on. Every week a new, more-obtrusive eye-stealing gimmick. It's getting more and more difficult (make that IMPOSSIBLE) to concentrate or even read the Web articles and comments. Often I want to just get away from my monitor and curl up with a quiet, non-aggressive newspaper. What price "Free"?

The Kennedy Family saga (i.e.; Camelot) demonstrated (1) that Americans (and maybe all people) crave Royalty and (2) it is a flawed reality that can't be trusted. Our Founding Fathers knew that all along.

Take out the trash.

Nam65-66 gets it right. USA's Defense Department contributes the most towards ultimate World Peace.