Was this due to the fact that even the terribly hateful crowd mostly informed by the right wing racist rantings of Rush Limbaugh actually knew better than to show face in a primarily African American neighborhood? Whatever the reasons, this gathering actually felt like the kind of thing you want to be involved in as a member of the community in a Democracy, and the sad looking handful of opponents and LaRouche followers handing out pamphlets on the corner were mostly ignored.

The people who filled the church on the corner of 25th and Magnolia near the USC campus were serious, thoughtful, interested and informed. And the questions read from previously filled out 3 X 5 cards were for the most part very intelligent...with the exception of a few silly comments about death squads which the sophisticated audience responded to in a way which immediately doused their impact.

Very heartening. was that question after question dealt with and asked about the implementation of a single-payer system...until Ms. Watson was forced to come right out and say...albeit with a little hesitancy, that she in fact supports it, although she quickly qualified this sentiment with the fact that she doesn't think there will actually be much hope for it at this time. Instead, she mentioned the Dennis Kucinich bill which provides for each state to have the right to implement a single-payer plan.

More than anything, Representative Watson gave the impression that not only is the public option proposed by President Obama not dead in the water, which the corporate news would have us believe, but that it is very much alive and viable. The plan that she described, to be administered by the government, will provide health services at a sliding scale to individuals who choose not to continue doing business with the Insurance companies.

What happened to Medicare for all?