As the New Hampshire Democratic primary race heats up, Republicans are out trying to make themselves heard above the din.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., went on the stump for President Bush last Friday, speaking to a group at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Frist, a heart surgeon, praised Bush's healthcare policy-making and took aim at several Democratic presidential hopefuls.
He opened with remarks about the importance of involvement, encouraging physicians to make their voices heard in the nation's capital. He further cited the "importance of having policymakers who have experience" in the medical field, such as himself.
Frist quipped that having physicians in political office did not, however, include the need for a doctor in the White House."That's why I'm here," he said. "To make sure that everybody knows the difference between President Bush and ... Dr. Dean."
"I am in New Hampshire to encourage people to participate in this process, to support our president who is doing a fantastic job, but also to help people understand why I feel so passionate about this administration," Frist said.
Frist used Bush's recent prescription drug and Medicare legislation as an example of Bush's policy responses to the "innovation ... of science, knowledge, technology and changes in healthcare delivery systems."
He talked further about Bush's financial commitment to "the war on HIV/AIDS," and spoke of his firsthand experience with HIV and AIDS patients while working in Africa.
Frist took questions after his brief remarks, including one from Democratic state Rep. Hilda Sokol.
Sokol, a former professor at Dartmouth Medical School, asked whether Frist would support the National Academy of Science's call for universal health coverage by 2010.
Frist named several solutions, including the expansion of community health centers and government initiatives to help lower-income individuals. These programs included tax credits for health insurance, as well as insurance industry reform.
Unlike Bush's proposals, Frist said universal healthcare "wouldn't capture the creativity among the health-delivery systems of the future."
