… The debate over end-of-life planning has largely been dormant since 2009, when the former Alaska governor Sarah Palin’s false claim that President Obama’s health care plan included a “death panel” spelled the end of a proposal for Medicare to reimburse doctors for voluntary end-of-life consultations with patients. …
Unfortunately, the lesson from the “death panel” controversy is that this issue is vulnerable to demagoguery if it becomes linked to people’s partisanship or feelings about controversial political figures and issues. For example, after Ms. Palin’s comments became widely known, and other prominent Republicans began to echo her claims, the myth came to be deeply held among the public. People’s negative predispositions toward Mr. Obama or his plan overwhelmed their critical faculties. CONT.
Brendan Nyhan (Dartmouth), New York Times