Our federal officials learned an important lesson in communication in recent days.

When you go before the public, you get some tough questions. And you had better be ready to provide real answers.

But no major initiative should be launched without direct, two-way communication with the public.

From the Senate to the House to the White House, officials who asked the public what it thought of a government-run health-care system found out in a hurry.

The Obama administration on Sunday said a government-owned and -operated health-care system may soon come off the table as the president continues to seek a program for covering those millions who are currently uninsured.

By Monday, only the most liberal edge of the Democratic Party – in the form of former party chief Howard Dean – was still pounding the gavel for a government-run system. The president’s own health and human services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, told CNN that direct government involvement is “not the essential element” in developing broad-based health care.

Not only is there movement away from a government-run system, but we’re hearing that adoption of a plan may be pushed into 2010.

U.S. Rep. John Murtha on Friday said he doubts that Congress will vote on a health plan this year. He said many representatives are urging Speaker Nancy Pelosi to not rush the issue to a vote.

A series of town-hall meetings did show Obama, Sen. Arlen Specter and others that the public was at best uneasy over and even confused about the federal health-care bill.

Specter was berated in a series of gatherings across Pennsylvania. And while he said the angry meetinggoers probably didn’t represent the broad population, he did have to acknowledge that this issue has gotten the attention of folks across the spectrum – including millions of voters.

“This is an adminstration that’s trying to make huge changes in American life,” political analyst G. Terry Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, told The Tribune-Democrat.

“Voters are deeply divided about this – as they were about the election.”

We have to give Specter credit for his willingness to take the health-care issue to the people.

That’s what all of our representatives should do in every instance where a major change is being considered.

We were disappointed that Murtha and others had no plans to go before the people with the health issue.

The Johnstown Democrat did hold several telephone conference calls, and planned to host one in September for residents of the Cambria-Somerset region.

But a conference call does not allow for the level of direct interaction that we saw in the town-hall meetings. A conference call can be controlled, with calls screened and tough questions avoided.

We urge Murtha; Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Hollidaysburg; Sen. Bob Casey and others to follow Specter’s lead and hold town-hall meetings.

The health-care issue has not gone away, but rather is evolving.

The public will need accurate and complete information now more than ever.

And the public deserves to know how their representatives view a given issue, and why.

This national health-care debacle proves yet again that communication should always be the first order of business – even in politics.

We think taking the debate into next year – making it the backdrop for Congressional elections – would lead to some very lively debate and would give the voting public much to consider.