The six major candidates for governor in North Carolina (two Democrats and four Republicans) took part in two separate debates on health care last Thursday. Surprisingly for all the talk that conservatives don't do health care, there was at least a rhetorical distinction between the Republican and the Democratic debates with some recognition of a role for consumers and prices.

All six would-be governors emphasized the need for personal responsibility, but the two Democrats put their focus on covering children as a first step to universal health insurance -- small victory here, Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue stopped herself before she called it universal health care, possibly meaning a recognition that coverage is not care.

Two Republican candidates talked of a need to get universal coverage with cooperation between the private sector and public sector, but even Bill Graham, who wants a "community-rated" connector in a state that does not have community rating, referred to his plan as consumer-driven health care. Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory exemplified the problem of viewing everything through the lens of illegal immigration in his constant return to the topic as a cause of high costs.

Overall, the debates presented plenty to worry about in specific plan details, but a reason to be optimistic about the overall direction of the health care policy debate.