This powerful video, from the new Kaiser Health Network, of a Massachusetts mechanic who says he cannot afford the state’s mandatory health insurance is a look into the future for President Obama about the political danger he faces embracing mandatory health insurance.

The mechanic literally uses words Obama spoke on the campaign trial: it’s
not that he doesn’t want insurance, it’s that he cannot afford it. As a
result, the state of Massachusetts taxes him $900 per year.

President Obama came out this week strong for a public option to the private
market, and only a strong public health care system that is cost effective
can counter the political power of video like this. Does President Obama
want to face a mechanic on the 2012 campaign trail who will be taxed by the
IRS because he is being price gouged by health insurers and cannot afford
the insurance. This video should show the president the need to do health
care reform right by regulating insurers and offering a public option to the
private market, not creating a punitive mandate for all Americans to buy
unaffordable policies.