One thing that killed John Kerry's candidacy is the label "European." European. It's like a swear word in American politics. It's a proxy label for effeminate, weak, and socialist. So when it comes to lobbying for healthcare reform in the US, maybe instead of referring to how great things are in Europe (or Canada), how about referring to Australia.

This idea was spurred on by a comment on philosophistry:

Health care doesn't have to be exclusively socialist or "capitalist". The Australian system is a good example. Everyone is provided with free public health care and about 40-50% also have private health insurance. You have the benefit of efficient, effective "capitalist" healthcare, and the safety net of the public system.

I've already copied-and-pasted that twice in the past 24 hours in order to unblock people's obsession with the black-and-white phraseology of "socialist medicine."

Australia is much more appealing to the slow-to-move, silent-majority, conservative America. If we're going to get healthcare reform, we have to make it popular among at least some of the cowboy-types. The ones that associate America with the Marlboro Man. I think Australia somehow has that kind of cred. It's got an expansive landscape and seems very "Wild West." It seems manly.

So let's stop talking about Canada and Europe. And let's start invoking Australia.

While Obama's poll numbers are still overall favorable, we still have to remember that conservatives are the single-largest ideological group. And besides, I want as many Americans to buy into this, rather than just have it forced onto us by the Obama-Pelosi juggernaut.