Time Mag's Halperin on CNN: Lack of Universal Coverage 'Immoral'

"We're the only industrialized democracy that doesn't cover every citizen" and "that is immoral," Mark Halperin, editor-at-large and senior political analyst for Time magazine where he oversees "The Page" blog, declared on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight in illustrating the prism through which journalists view the debate over the proper role of government in health care.

Halperin's contention occurred back on Thursday, August 6, but I'm just now catching up, following a vacation, thanks to a tip from Steve Allen of the Gentleman from Lickskillet comic strip, which had a liberal media bias theme a couple of weeks ago involving "Group Think" magazine.

When Dobbs challenged Halperin's premise - "That's immoral?" - the political director at ABC News for ten years until jumping to Time in 2007, affirmed: "Yes, to be a country this wealthy and be the only industrialized democracy that hasn't figured out how to cover everyone."

From the Thursday, August 6 Lou Dobbs Tonight on CNN:

MARK HALPERIN: There's three things that are true: We're the only industrialized democracy that doesn't cover every citizen. That is immoral.

LOU DOBBS: That's immoral?

HALPERIN: Yes, to be a country this wealthy and be the only industrialized democracy that hasn't figured out how to cover everyone. Two, every other industrialized democracy has done this through a government program. And three, the President faces of tough task, because this country is not for a single payer, and it's very hard to build anything else.

- Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center