Time to pay attention to the right elephants

Some Michael Jackson fans were worried the circus animals, arriving for a performance Wednesday, will detract from his memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles today.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration is leading an elephant through the legislative process while the rest of us are distracted by things like a celebrity funeral, the resignation of an Alaska governor or the apparent murder-suicide of a former NFL quarterback.

The president and his friends in congress want to create a federal health czar with control over medical plans nationwide.

The Health Choices Administration would, ironically, reduce choices and, critics say, take power away from state agencies that now regulate the health insurance industry.

The commissioner and the new agency would run a purchasing pool through which individuals and small businesses could pick medical coverage from private plans and a government-sponsored alternative.

Add $150 billion in Medicare cuts the administration proposes to make over the next 10 years, and it's clear that the future of medical care in America is anything but certain.

If there's ever a time we need to keep an eye on the horizon and ignore popular distractions, this is it.