At the moment, I am not really seeing much coverage of constructive alternatives in the press to which I have access. The proposals seem like a muddle and mess because real reform is being shied away from in favour of the minimum possible politically - and, it must be said, some startling level of cowardice being shown by Democrats if real reform is what they believe in. However, all I see of the other side is yah-boo scaremongering.

If I may, could I ask Don Corleone and Seamus to explain the kind of system that they would like to see in the United States? As far as I understand the numbers, something of the order of 46 million fellow citizens of the US are uninsured, many more part insured or vulnerable to redundancy, and there are 18,000 unnecessary deaths due to lack of medical insurance each year - and many more bankruptcies. (These are figures widely quoted in the papers here, so I am open to them being challenged with other evidence).

You two gentlemen are deeply Christian, wise and caring individuals who also believe in a conservative solution to most social issues. I may not always agree, but your opinions are always thought-provoking. Your thoughts on the best, even ideal, reform (given that the existing system, if the above figures are even remotely accurate, is deeply immoral and close to barbarism for a wealthy country) would be very valuable for me to understand the direction of the ongoing debate.