People are interesting creatures.

When you train them to respond to certain stimuli in certain ways, they really do just stop thinking with anything approaching either intelligence or logic.

Case in point: the public option.

Opponents to the Kennedy-Dodd health care proposal are whipping up as much hysteria as they can about the public option and certain segments of the public are responding as trained.

'We don't want the government dictating which doctors we are and are not allowed to see!'

'We don't want the government deciding which medical procedures we can and cannot have!'

'We don't want the government rationing care or creating inequities in the system!'

'We want private insurance! Long live the free market!'

Of course, none of these noisy opponents appear to have noticed that, under the current system, private insurers do all of these things. Yep, that's right — every single one of them.

So, what's the difference?

The difference is that Americans have a long and distinguished history of regarding their government with deep suspicion. They have no such history with the private sector, in spite of the private sector's history with them.

All of which means that they won't trust government, even when there is evidence suggesting that they can.

It also means that they will trust private enterprise, even in the face of evidence suggesting that they shouldn't.

That is why Europe and Canada have long since managed to solve this problem, while we are still floundering about, creating controversies.

We are well-trained.