GloucesterTimes.com, Gloucester, MA

Think back to your childhood and remember what it felt like to be sick: the throbbing jaw of a cavity, the pain of an earache, the burning throat of tonsillitis, the itch of chicken pox.

Consider what it's like for the 9 million American children who have no medical insurance and the constant worries of their parents.

Most of us with good insurance debate whether a symptom is worth a visit to the doctor; our concerns may be the co-pay, taking a few hours off work or wasting the doctor's time.

But imagine the anguished debates of parents whose kids aren't insured:

* Will the fever go away on its own?

* Will the cut heal without stitches?

* Is the patch of red skin likely to mean an infection that will spread?

* Is it worth going into further debt to see a doctor?

* Which pediatrician in town will see a new patient without insurance?

* Is the best option to get treated at the emergency room and apply for free care?

* Or wait a few days and see if the child improves?

If children suffer longer than necessary with a treatable illness, what is the impact on their schoolwork? What is the likelihood of their spreading infection to classmates?

How can these scenarios be prevalent in the richest country in the world, where many people spend thousands on surgery to remove the wrinkles of age?

Democrats believe that all Americans should have access to decent medical care. We think it's a moral failure that this country hasn't achieved what other advanced industrialized countries have: health care for all.

It took a fight over decades - finally won because of the landslide victory of Democratic President Johnson and a Democratic Congress - to achieve Medicare, the system for providing health insurance (at least partial) to the elderly and disabled.

Republican Sen. Karl Mundt of South Dakota represented Republican philosophy well 42 years ago when he advised against Medicare:

"No one can doubt for a minute that this is simply another step toward the neutralization of private responsibility, which will eventually end when the government assumes complete control over the destinies of all of our citizens from the cradle to the grave. The principle established here, when carried to its logical conclusion cannot fail also to be damaging to two segments of our free enterprise system: our physicians and our insurance industry."

Now another battle in the long struggle to make medical care available to all Americans is being fought - this time on behalf of uninsured children.

Last month, the Democratic-led Senate passed a bill to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program to an additional 4 million uninsured children. (Thanks to Sen. Kennedy's leadership, 6 million poor children are already enrolled in the program, established in 1997.)

President Bush says he will veto the bill. He explains: "Their SCHIP plan is an incremental step toward the goal of government-run health care for every American. ... I believe the best approach is to put more power in the hands of individuals by empowering people and their doctors to make health care decisions that are right for them."

(In short, he agrees with the 1965 views of the Republican from South Dakota.)

This language is typical of Bush's evasions. First, it's no more "government-run" than Medicare. Second, how could uninsured kids empower doctors they don't have to make the health care decisions?

Fortunately, 18 Republican senators joined Democrats in supporting the expansion. Without those Republican votes, the legislation wouldn't have the slightest chance of becoming law.

But don't give the Republican Party too much credit. Sixty-three percent of Republican senators still voted nay, including New Hampshire's Sen. Judd Gregg. No Democrats voted against the bill.

Some Republicans say Democrats are "playing politics" with this legislation. Yes, it's political - meaning it's about the kind of country we want. But there's nothing playful or casual about it. Democrats have long pushed for fairness in health care.

In a 1945 speech to Congress, Democratic President Truman urged: "We should resolve now that the health of this nation is a national concern; that financial barriers in the way of attaining health shall be removed; that the health of all its citizens deserves the help of all the nation."

In the 62 years since Truman's speech, lack of comprehensive medical care has become an acknowledged crisis for kids and adults, doctors, hospitals and employers. If there's a Democratic landslide in 2008, we can take at least a few more steps forward.

Catherine Bayliss chairs the Gloucester Democratic City Committee and is a member of the Democratic State Committee.