Six months into the Obama presidency, the administration's legislative goals have begun to crystallize, and many have spurred debate. Among the themes that are emerging is a storyline championed by conservative commentators that the president's initiatives bear a distinct resemblance to European policies. Some have gone as far as to invoke the word, "socialist."

Politics aside, there is much to be gained by examining the successes and failures of real-world models of American policy goals. To assess the viability of those goals and the similarities between White House plans for legislation and Europe's policies, SmartMoney analyzed four of the president's recent initiatives and compared them to analogous policies in Europe.

For example, the president says he intends to remake the nation's health-care system. Congress is wrangling over the details of how to pay for the massive overhaul, and Obama took his plan to the public in a prime time news conference this week. The fundamental idea behind the plan to expand coverage to the more than 40 million Americans who have no insurance parallels health care systems in other countries, most notably in Western Europe.

Obama has also called for the development of a high-speed rail system and a cap and trade system to limit carbon emissions each has a counterpart in Europe. And the cash for clunkers program that went into effect last week followed a similar program launched in Germany.

"There's a lot going on all over the world. The U.S. is trying to figure out what would work best given its unique situation," says Mark Browne, a professor of risk management at the Wisconsin School of Business. "It's certainly in our best interest to keep track of what's going on in other places."

4 U.S. Policies Compared to Their European Counterparts:

Health Care

What it looks like in Europe:

There's no uniform health care system throughout Europe. Most systems are primarily publicly funded and aim to provide coverage to everyone. For instance, France has a single-payer system, where taxes finance a public insurer that pays private providers similar to the U.S. Medicare program. The U.K.'s system is often called "socialized medicine" because the hospitals are part of the government and the physicians are largely salaried. Germany and the Netherlands operate differently and are slightly more comparable to the existing American system, says Brad Herring, a professor of health policy at Johns Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health. For example, Germany has so-called sickness funds, which resemble very large nonprofit health insurers. These funds negotiate rates with hospitals and physicians, somewhat similar to the way private insurers negotiate rates with providers in the U.S.

The plan for the U.S.:

Obama came into office saying he was adamant about revamping the country's health-care system. Many of the president's proposed changes would lead the system in the direction of the European model. Some of those changes have been echoed in bills now being debated in Congress.

Earlier this month, Democratic House leaders unveiled their health-care reform plan. It includes a tax on the wealthiest Americans as a way to finance expanded coverage, as well as a government-run plan that would compete with private insurers. The proposed legislation would effectively guarantee universal health coverage which is the norm in nearly all industrialized countries except the U.S. An overhaul would also mean a larger public role in financing health care, and private insurers would no longer be allowed to deny coverage to anyone based on their health status both small steps toward the European approach, says Josh Bivens, an economist at the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute, who has studied globalization and social insurance programs.

The Numbers:

Environmental Policy

What it looks like in Europe:

The European Union implemented a cap-and-trade policy called the Emissions Trading System in 2005, and the system's first trial phase ended in 2007. The ETS has been criticized for being ineffective in reducing carbon emissions. The problems stemmed largely from governments doling out too many permits, which made the cap unbinding, says James Sallee, an assistant professor of environmental policy at the University of Chicago.

The plan for the U.S.:

The Obama administration has labeled cutting greenhouse gas emissions a top priority. And the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which narrowly passed the House in June, shares some features of European policies aimed at curbing pollutants, including placing national limits on heat-trapping gases from major sources. The bill now faces a vote in the Senate. "At this point, it's anyone's guess whether or not the Senate will be willing to pass something that looks like" this bill, says Sallee.

Under a cap-and-trade system, the government would set a limit on the amount of a given pollutant that a single company can emit into the atmosphere. Companies that need to increase their emissions allowance would need to buy credits from those that pollute less. In effect, the buyer pays a charge for polluting, while the seller is rewarded for reducing their emissions.

The Numbers:

Overall emissions of carbon dioxide from businesses in the EU trading system increased by 0.68% in 2007 the year the first trial ended but emissions dropped by 3% in 2008, the first year of the second program's phase, according to statistics provided by the EU.

High-Speed Rail

What it looks like in Europe:

Europe has 10 different high-speed rail systems, including the TGV, which operates in France, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, and Eurostar, in England, France and Belgium. The system "has been perfected to the point where it competes successfully with airlines," says Jan Svejnar, a professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan. It has also been imitated elsewhere. Several Asian countries, including Japan, Taiwan and China, have their own high-speed networks. Japan's bullet trains can go as fast as 180 miles per hour. Acela's trains are capable of 150 mph.

Of course, Europe s rail system benefits from its heavy population density and the relatively short distances between its major cities. Travel between London and Paris is less of a to-do than a trip from New York to Los Angeles. Governments in Europe are also so focused on transit, says Sara Catz, the director of the Center for Urban Infrastructure at the University of California, Irvine. A high tax on gas makes people more inclined to leave their cars at home and take public transportation, she says.

The plan for the U.S.:

Obama's goal of reducing the U.S.'s dependence on foreign oil and encouraging energy-efficient travel also includes a nationwide high-speed passenger rail system. In April he called for spending at least $13 billion to launch the network, and identified 10 major corridors for potential rail projects, including routes in the Pacific Northwest, Pennsylvania and the Gulf Coast. The only true high-speed rail service in the U.S. today is Amtrak's Acela Express, which operates in the Northeast.

The Numbers:

To get from the Paris Nord station to central Brussels (a distance of about 190 miles) on Thalys, one of Western Europe's high-speed rail networks, takes about one-and-a-half hours. To get from Boston to New York (also 190 miles) on the Acela Express takes more than three hours.

Cash for Clunkers

What it looks like in Europe:

In February, Germany launched a cash-for-clunkers program, which offers $3,320 to drivers who trade in cars at least nine years old and buy new ones. The program was designed to help the country's beleaguered auto makers; it was met with an unexpectedly large response and boosted car sales, Browne says. Other countries, including the Britain, France and Austria introduced their own "scrappage" schemes this year as well.

The plan for the U.S.:

Under guidance from the White House, Congress passed a similar plan that went into effect last week. Last month, the Senate approved a bill that would give vouchers worth up to $4,500 to motorists who trade in their old cars for more fuel-efficient models. The bill was attached to a $106 billion spending bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There are some crucial differences among the programs. Germany's plan gave no mileage requirements or fuel efficiency standards, but in the U.S., old cars to be traded in must pass a clunker test, reporting a combined fuel economy value of 18 miles per gallon or less.

The Numbers:

In the first half of 2009, registrations of new cars in Germany rose by 26%. In June alone, new-car registrations jumped more than 40% over the same month last year, according to the German Automotive Association. It's too early to gauge American consumer interest in the cash for clunkers program or its potential impact on car sales. The program began Friday.