The things the president said he was looking for — greater competition among insurance providers, market-based cost controls, even some malpractice reform — are all things that conservatives (including moderate conservatives with a libertarian bent and liberal nuance, like myself) should applaud. Applaud they did, at least on that last, but something tells me that tomorrow they won’t take Obama’s words on the others at face value. It may have to do with Pelosi (notice how that name is starting to be uttered with the same seething contempt of “Clinton” and “Kennedy” once were?); it may have to do with them cow-towing to a fringe-yet-vocal group among their base who question Obama’s allegiances, birthplace, etc.

But, seriously, I am at an utter loss to see how any of Obama’s notions are anything like “socialism.” Reminds me of liberal college kids, picketing GOP White Houses and screaming “fascist!” with no historical understanding of what that word actually means. There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of some of the president’s claims, especially those saying there’ll be “not one dime” added to the federal deficit if a plan passes. But skepticism shouldn’t mean defeatism, nor alarmism, and it stands to reason that a compromise bill is worth a shot, since it can always be changed a couple years down the road if the savings don’t pan out.

Alas, what I just wrote is essentially the GOP’s best argument: Once it’s built, an “entitlement program” (though that’s not really what this would be) is quite hard to tear down. It’s an unfortunate byproduct of our brand of democracy, that a “popular” program that isn’t working (read: Social Security) can never be touched, despite all manner of expert opinion, because pissing off the constituents — even when it’s right — is political disaster. And so, I can understand Republican worries that, if established, the “public option” will become a staple and then a third rail, potentially costing this country trillions more down the line.

And yet, and yet… We can’t continue to allow our politicians to avoid the hard decisions, simply to maintain a status quo and avoid the political risks. Will we ever see term limits?