Does ObamaCare mean that Obama cares?

There is something worth asking in the silly debate over what to call health care reform -- "ObamaCare," "health insurance reform," or something else. The question is in the title of this post. First, some background. In labeling the program ObamaCare, conservatives are trying not only to tie the reform to the President, making him the face of reform while minimizing the importance of other players like Congress, but also to make it personal for people. "If you don't like Obama, you won't like ObamaCare," the conservatives are saying, "and if you don't like ObamaCare, you don't like the President." This messaging is effective, and it gets people riled up. Having effectively tied the President to the reform, the conservatives are now "going after" Congress with angry mobs. Liberals are trying to calm passions by referring to their efforts as "health insurance reform," pinning blame for problems on the insurance industry and trying to get credit for fixing those problems. The liberals have reached a fork in the road where their promises have to be met within the realm of political reality. Political reality is an ever-shifting bed of sand, not a fixed point, but the reality is that the President promised change, and now he is trying to deliver. My point of view is still one that hopes the President is really acting on behalf of average Americans -- that his approach and his proposals are firmly rooted in fixing problems with the system, not in political pandering or in some of the worst things he is accused of wanting. In other words, I don't think the President is out to kill old people and babies. Hardly a ringing endorsement, I know, but conservatives have yanked the debate about health care into an alarming arena of shouting matches and physical confrontation by stoking fears about change. Reasonable people can disagree, as my friend Garden Gal and others I have talked to about this issue probably do, but change is always hard, and I think this particular change is badly needed. Health care is simply too expensive in this country. Any program that can truly reverse the trend of rising health care costs, cover more Americans, and allow Americans to have choices in their health care is welcome in my book. Now, some may accuse me of believing the President's promises instead of the reality, but a comparison of the status quo and the reform proposals leads me to believe that this country can afford ObamaCare, should adopt the best possible reform that has a chance of passing Congress, and need not fear the majority of the problems that the conservatives are raising. I know I need to question Pres. Obama's motives more in this arena -- I know there has to be more to the story than just the good of the country, but something tells me that Pres. Obama wouldn't take on a fight of this magnitude if he didn't strongly believe it was necessary to bring the country onto a more solid footing.