What are you prepared to do?

Headnote

To solve uninsured problem, Bush, others need to think way outside the box

In the 1987 movie "The Untouchables," Sean Connery plays a veteran Chicago Irish cop known as Malone who winds up as reluctant mentor to Treasury agent Eliot Ness, portrayed by Kevin Costner. Ness burns to end Al Capone's reign of terror, but lacks sufficient drive and skill to get the job done.

"What are you prepared to do?" asks Malone, who then instructs Ness on hardball law-enforcement tactics that are barely lawful. Ness takes the advice and winds up crushing Capone, although at considerable psychic cost.

Watching President Bush's State of the Union address last week, I was struck by the similarity in predicaments. Let's take it as our premise that Mr. Bush is sincere and really wants to solve the underlying problem in healthcare-helping expand coverage to the 46.6 million Americans who lack it. Listening to his proposals, however, made me think that he...