Michael Jackson TalkRadio Content

n the near future Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will be turning 60. I wonder how emotionally difficult it must be for the man whose body and health were legendary. One would hope that his success in the political arena and as a second term governor of the most populous of states would suffice, particularly as the Republican governor won in a majority Democratic state. But the body is aging; the former Mr. Universe has an artificial hip, reconstructed heart valves, a surgically repaired shoulder, and a badly broken femur from a skiing accident. I'm told he refers to himself as a "bionic man". At the same time the governor is pushing a health insurance idea that is very likely to result in passage. California's healthcare industry might well provide insurance for essentially all 36 million residence. It is very possible that California may show the nation that it is possible to provide health insurance to all citizens. As the Christian Science Monitor recently pointed out, "Most healthcare reforms falter when one or more key players -insurers, doctors, hospitals, employers, taxpayers - are asked to shoulder a bigger burden and cry foul". The Governor's plan aims to spread both the burden and incentives as evenly as possible - hoping that all involved, every faction, gains. Massachusetts already has signed into law such a healthcare proposal. Maybe the success on both coasts would raise the issue to a more significant item in the 2008 presidential campaigns. Maybe the broken bones, a wife who is a Democrat by registration, and a Senator, "uncle Teddy", Kennedy have all made their impact on the thinking processes of man who now is using much more brain than brawn. P.S. ... One of this morning's e-mails asked me what was my overriding reaction to the president's State of the Union address ,nearly three weeks ago. My answer was that it was as if the man was writing a simple bumper sticker, "Give War a Chance". It was a most unambitious address and I didn't feel he was impressive or inspirational on Iraq ,or anything else. No new ideas or proposals that stand a chance of success when he no longer has the majority in both the House and the Senate. He has become the personification of a lame duck chief executive.