Vital Signs
A PLATFORM FOR POLICY
Stump speeches in the 21st century rarely rise to the eloquence— and almost never to the length—that they did in the age of orators like Abraham Lincoln. But today's emphasis on the pithy sound bite means it's especially hard for topics as complex as health-care policy to get their due.
It occurred to officials at DHMC, located in the nation's- first-primary state, that they were in an ideal position to do something about that. So Dartmouth-Hitchcock has invited every declared Democratic candidate for the presidency, as well as President Bush, to deliver a "health policy grand rounds" lecture at DHMC.
Four candidates (Howard Dean, John Kerry, Joseph Lieberman, and Dennis Kucinich) had already put in an appearance by the time this issue went to press. It's expected that the rest of the Democrats will have trooped through by the time of the New Hampshire primary and that Bush (or perhaps a designate) will make a presentation after the primary. The series will be covered in detail in an upcoming issue. (No sound bites—well, make that "sight bites"—for Dartmouth Medicine!) A.S.