Lets listen to Sen. Obama:

OBAMA: Let’s break down what she really means by a mandate. What’s meant by a mandate is that the government is forcing people to buy health insurance and so she’s suggesting a parent is not going to buy health insurance for themselves if they can afford it. Now, my belief is that most parents will choose to get health care for themselves and we make it affordable.

Here’s the concern. If you haven’t made it affordable, how are you going to enforce a mandate. I mean, if a mandate was the solution, we can try that to solve homelessness by mandating everybody to buy a house. The reason they don’t buy a house is they don’t have the money. And so, our focus has been on reducing costs, making it available. I am confident if people have a chance to buy high-quality health care that is affordable, they will do so. That’s what our plan does and nobody disputes that.

Yes Mr. President that is correct.  Mandating Americans buy insurance as a way to solve the health care crisis does not make sense.  The reason that most folks don’t buy insurance is because they can’t afford it.  So is the reason that the Senate is mandating that Americans buy insurance because it can’t make insurance affordable?  And to your question Mr. President…if you have not made insurance affordable how are you going to enforce a mandate?