Mr. Wilder goes to Washington...

...Don't worry, I haven't been elected to anything - the country need not panic.

Tomorrow I’m flying to Washington DC, to give a presentation on how social media can help promote your medical center. You are reading this, so you helped…thanks!

Heading to our nations’ capital has me thinking about politics, especially since the health care debate has continued simmering all summer long. Last week, VMC’s executive director Robin Roche was talking to the management team about “the public option” – because that’s what we are, really. And about how Medicare is a pretty successful example of the public option, as is the VA hospital. I took the moment to shout “You LIE!” from the back of the room, Congressman Wilson-style. Everyone laughed, getting the joke, which was lucky because 1) the joke expired pretty much last week, and 2) if they hadn’t laughed, Robin would have kicked my butt.

But we have to laugh at the health care debate…for one thing, finding common ground is harder. From Senator Kyl’s “I don’t need maternity care” to death panels, to “health co-ops” (???)…well, I thought the circus came to town at our gala two weeks ago (see previous post).

My fave, though, came today in the report of House Minority Leader John Boehner’s comment: “The public option is about as unpopular as a garlic milkshake.” Leave it to our own Mike Honda to send him a basket of Gilroy garlic along with a poem praising the public option – and garlic – as being good for you. Congressman Honda admits to never having a garlic milkshake, which has me planning.

I’ll whip one up for him (soy milk, of course) and deliver it next week when I visit the Capital. If you have any unusual deliveries or messages you’d like me to take with me, let me know in the next few hours as I pack. I’ll be preparing for a week in DC by reading Dan Brown’s latest novel on the plane…it’s reputed frantic and over-the-top plot should be just the thing!