Truthout roundup 6/30

Dean Baker compares Obama and McCain's health care plans; US government advised Iraq on its oil deals; Republican "attack machine" not as well oiled as in the past; Charlie Black is playing to fear card for McCain; Oliver Stone makes movie about Bush; and more ... Browse our continually updating front page at http://www.truthout.org

Dean Baker Barack Care Versus John Care
http://www.truthout.org/article/barack-care-versus-john-care Dean Baker, for Truthout: "By far the most important domestic policy issue facing the next president will be fixing the health care system. The United States stands out among wealthy countries in not guaranteeing health insurance to its citizens. Yet, even though many people cannot get access to care, we still pay more than twice as much per person as the average in other wealthy countries. And we have the worst outcomes. Only a severely over-medicated politician would claim we have the best health care system in the world."

US Advised Iraqi Ministry on Oil Deals
http://www.truthout.org/article/us-advised-iraqi-ministry-oil-deals Andrew E. Kramer, of The New York Times: "A group of American advisers led by a small State Department team played an integral part in drawing up contracts between the Iraqi government and five major Western oil companies to develop some of the largest fields in Iraq, American officials say. The disclosure, coming on the eve of the contracts' announcement, is the first confirmation of direct involvement by the Bush administration in deals to open Iraq's oil to commercial development and is likely to stoke criticism."

Lack of Funds Hobbling the "Republican Attack Machine"
http://www.truthout.org/article/lack-funds-hobbling-republican-attack-machine Steven Thomma, of McClatchy Newspapers: "Democrats and the media have used the term so much that it's almost an article of faith. But the so-called 'Republican attack machine' waiting with piles of unregulated cash to chew up Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is anything but. Obama cited the threat of unregulated attack groups - called '527s' because they're authorized to raise unlimited cash under that section of the Internal Revenue Service code - to justify dropping his pledge to take public financing - along with its spending limits - for the general election campaign. Yet there's no 2008 equivalent to the 2004 Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which spent $22 million attacking Democrat John Kerry."

The Boston Globe The Same Old Politics of Terror
http://www.truthout.org/article/the-same-old-politics-terror The Boston Globe: "When asked about the effect of another terrorist attack on American soil, John McCain's chief strategist, Charlie Black, responded rashly and bluntly. 'Certainly it would be a big advantage' for McCain, Black told Fortune magazine recently. Similarly, the strategist described the assassination of Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto in December as 'an unfortunate event,' but said 'it helped us' in the contest for the nomination. It would be unfair to McCain, and to Black, to take this analysis as an indication that the Republican team is hoping for or counting on a terrorist incident. Still, Black's observation does bring up the question of whether the threat of terrorism will help Republicans, or whether the politics of security have shifted since the last presidential election."

John Horn Oliver Stone's "W"
http://www.truthout.org/article/oliver-stones-w John Horn, of The Los Angeles Times: "It's a conversation any father and son might have -- a quick chat about baseball, families and world affairs. But when the speakers are President George H. W. Bush and his son George W. Bush, even a seemingly innocuous conversation can suddenly carry great weight, especially when Oliver Stone is at the controls. With sweat cascading down his face on a steamy June night in Louisiana, the Oscar-winning director was directing James Cromwell (playing the elder Bush) and Josh Brolin (starring as President Bush) through a critical moment in 'W.,' Stone's forthcoming -- and potentially divisive -- drama about the personal, political and psychological evolution of the current president."