William M. Thomas: “I thank the moderator. It seems to me that it is evident tonight, based upon the initial opening statement of the…”

“I thank the moderator. It seems to me that it is evident tonight, based upon the initial opening statement of the gentleman from California, Mr. Stark, and his attempt to evade the questions, that either he has not read the resolve clause of this Oxford debate or he is very uncomfortable with the question that is supposed to be in front of us. I will repeat it: Resolved that the Clinton health care plan best represents the elements that should be included in health care reform. Nowhere do we see goals; it is the elements of the President's plan. And I believe we have heard several responses tonight which indicate that they are far more comfortable talking about general ephemeral goals than they are about the elements of the President's plan. Frankly, when the American people are going to be required to live under this plan, they are not going to be living under ephemeral goals, they are going to be living under a national health board that has the ability to set the prices for the entire health care delivery system of the United States. They are going to be told they can no longer have the insurance plan that they currently have. And at some point in this debate, I do hope we begin talking about the elements of the President's plan.”