LH - but there is a general drift, driven by whomever, towards the mass arming of citizens and there is a fundamental distrust of any government policy that seeks to use taxpayer's money for social projects such as free healthcare. It feels as if the momentum is with the free marketeers and pro-gun lobby and it seems as if reason is fast disappearing into the ether, driven away by the sort of mean-spirited right-wingers who seed fear amongst the population in the most disgusting manner; it's why Gitmo is still open. My US friends are virtually all pro-Obama and the ones who are medical doctors crave an NHS-style health service that would improve the lives of countless Americans.

This isn't a US issue either. Here in the UK the drift to the right and the idealogical battle being waged against the welfare state, the demonisation of the poor and disabled and the marginalisation of any voice not pro-austerity continues apace. In fact, the "country" is throughly miserable at the moment (apart from the toffs and millionaires) as even entrepreneurs are struggling to prise money from the banks to run their businesses. Recessions can offer opportunities for the bold but even this most sacred of right-wing ideals has gone to the wall in the rush to destroy the welfare state and take us back to the misery of the pre-war public health system, which was basically if you can't pay you're fucked.