Health reform? Not without a catchphrase.

President Obama's early-term focus on health reform wooed me into thinking that broad, health system-altering legislation - a boondoggle for previous presidents - might actually pass. Outspoken critics helped stall the initiative, and Senator Brown's Senate election pushed health reform even further off track. Now, some anticipate the president will revive the legislation and progress via political maneuvering in Congress. This time, I'm not getting my hopes up. Lack of a unifying slogan stalled health reform during the first round of the policy fight and without one going forward, health reform will stall again.

The difficulty of explaining the hoped-for outcomes of health reform helped stall the initiative. As the President's backers gave equivocal answers, his critics offered certainty. When asked what the legislation would do, they said, "raise taxes, create death panels, and put the government between doctors and patients." While some of these answers were false, they fit more neatly on cable news tickers than the President's verbose explanations. The lack of a rallying cry for health reformers planted doubt and the attention paid to health reforms critiques - both valid and baseless - fed these doubts and stalled reform. Despite mustering a slogan chanted by crowds across the country, President Obama could not unite supporters and shout down detractors with a unifying message.