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A look at key issues in the health care debate:
THE ISSUE: Which former presidents have attempted comprehensive health care reform and why hasn't anyone succeeded?
THE POLITICS: Many have tried. Only Lyndon Johnson achieved transcendent reform, with passage of Medicare and Medicaid protecting the elderly and poor, but universal coverage has been an elusive goal for over a century. Franklin Roosevelt promoted national health insurance but gave priority to jobs and retirement security during the Depression. Harry Truman fought for a single insurance system to cover everyone but ran into Republican opposition and the cries of "socialized medicine" heard again today. Perhaps if not for the Watergate scandal that destroyed his presidency, Richard Nixon might have become the Republican president to have given the country universal coverage with his plan to expand the employer-based system and widen protection for the poor. Bill Clinton's effort foundered in its complexity and under assault from opponents.
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