The following articles and supporting articles have been made available by Kaiser Health News.

1. Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report
Monday, March 22, 2010

News writer Phil Galewitz writes about the impact of the legislative package approved yesterday by the House of Representatives. "The health overhaul package passed by the House Sunday and sent to the Senate for final action is the most far-reaching health legislation since the creation of the Medicare and Medicaid Program" (Galewitz, 3/21). Read the entire story.

2. The Immediate Effects of Health Care Reform
March 22, 2010

Kaiser Health News writer Mary Agnes Carey offers a guide to some of the pharases being used as the health care reform reconciliation bill moves to the Senate. “Byrd droppings. Swiss cheese. Vote-a-rama. These are some of the less-than-elegant phrases being tossed around the halls of Congress now that the House has approved a
$940 billion health care package. The main piece of the package, the
underlying Senate bill, will be sent to President Barack Obama for his
signature. The other piece—a reconciliation bill that would make several changes to the new law - goes back to the Senate" (Carey, 3/21). Read the entire story.

4. Political Cartoons: 'Sisyphus Accomplished' and 'Congressional Budget Outlet'
March 22, 2010

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with two new cartoons: "Congressional Budget Office" by Milt Priggee. View the cartoons.

5. House Passes Historic Health Care Reform
March 22, 2010

The Washington Post reports: "House Democrats scored a historic victory in the century-long battle to reform the nation's health-care system late Sunday night. ... House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her collegues erupted in cheers and hugs as the votes were counted, while Republicans who had fought the Democratic efforts on health-care reform for more than a year appeared despondent. ... The debate has consumed Obama's first year in office, ... inflamed the partisanship that Obama pledged to tame when he campaigned for the White House and has limited Congress's ability to pass any other major legislation, at least until after the midterm elections in November. And is has sparket a citizens' revolt that reached the doors of the Capitol this weekend" (Murray and Montgomery, 3/22). Read the entire article.

The New York Times reports: "With the 219-to-212 vote, the House gave final approval to legislation passed by the Senate on Chrismas Eve. Thirty-four Democrats joined Republicans in voting against the bill." Following that vote, the House then "adopted a package of changes to [the Senate-passed measure] by a vote of 220 to 221. That package - agreed to in negotiations among House and Senate Democrats and the White House - now goes to the Senate for action as soon as this week" (Pear and Herszenhorn, 3/21). Read the entire article.

The Los Angeles Time reports: "On the House floor, Democrats erupted into cheers of 'Yes, we can!' at 10:45 p.m. Easter time as the decisive 216th 'yes' vote was recorded, capping a tortuous campaign that several senior lawmakers linked to the historic battle of civil rights two generations earlier. 'This is the Civil Rights Act of the 21st Century,' said Democratic Rep. James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, the top-ranking black member of the House." Meanwhile, "Angry protesters swarmed over the Capitol lawn throughout the day, cheering sympathetic Republicans who urged them on from the House balcony. They called for lawmakers to 'kill the bill' and warned of dire political consequences for Democrats who voted for the legislation. ... But after a final flurry of negotiating defused an intraparty dispute over abortion and locked down the last votes, Democratic lawmakers ... were celebrating the payoff of a monumental gamble" (Levey and Hook, 3/22). Read the entire article.

USA Today reports: a timeline of "pivitol moments in American health care history" from 1798 to the present (3/22). Read the entire article.

KHN's Morning Edition provides more coverage of the health bill's impact on consumers to lock down the last hold-out votes and leaders' statements and the first reports after the historic vote.

6. "What's Next? Senate Prepares To Consider House-Passed Reconciliation Fixes
March 22, 2010

Senators are preparing to take up a set of House-passed "fixes" to the health reform legislation it passed in December. Read the entire article.

The Washington Post reports: "The year-long battle over reshaping more than one-sixth of the U.S. economy will now move across the Capitol. The House's approval of the Senate's version of health-care legislation ... also will send to the Senate a 153-page package of amendments to that legislation." Democrats there will use the "reconciliation rule to try to pass the revisions based on a simple majority." In anticipation of the related Senate floor drama, a group of senators and staffers "is expected to gather Monday with the Senate parliamentarian to determine whether a tax on high-cost insurance policies would affect the Social Security through the reconciliation process. Republicans say a ruling on their side could short-circuit the process, but Democrats are confident about their provision" (Kane, 3/22).
Read the entire article.

Kaiser Health News reports: "Senate debate could start as early as Tuesday and conclude before Congress adjourns for a two-week recess scheduled to start Friday night. The reconciliation process, which will be used by Senate Democrats to try to pass the bill, restricts floor debate to 20 hours and requires 51 votes for passage rather than the 60 needed to break a filibuster." Republicans are hoping to find rules on reconciliation that would allow them to change the bill and send it back to the House for reconsideration. KHN also presents a glossary of the terms sure to come up this week as the Senate begins its consideration including on the "Byrd Rule," which requires that every provision in a reconciliation bill deal with revenue or spending: a "point of order," which requires 60 votes to override a ruling from a Democratic chair; and the "Cadillac" Tax, which Republicans will likely say violates reconciliation rules because it doesn't take effect until 2018 (Carey, 3/21). Read the entire article.

The Boston Globe reports: "Senate Democratic leaders remain unclear as to how some of those procedural issues will be addressed, and the fight over those arcane rules began this weekend. First, Senate Democrats asked Republicans to vet their procedural objections with the Parliamentarian on Friday, but the GOP declined to do so, said one source." Roll Call reports that Republicans' best shot at changing the bill is to "find a budget point of order against the bill" which would have to be taken out before it is approved. In the meantime, even amendments Democrats may like will likely not be passed. "Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has said that Democrats will be asked to defeat any and all amendments, even ones they might support, in an effort to pass the bill, unchanged, and get it o the president's desk" (Drucker and Pierce, 3/21). Read the entire article.

The Hill reports: "Senior Senate Republicans are skeptical of their chances to block major elements of a Democratic reconciliation package of healthcare reforms this week, avoiding the bold predictions of victory, that have marked their statements for months. ... 'I have no idea,' said Sen. Judd Gregg, ranking Republican on the Budget Committee, when asked to gauge the chances for GOP success. 'We intend to make it a heavy lift to pass a reconciliation bill across the floor, which we think is a very bad bill'" (Rushing, 3/22). Read the entire article.

MSNBC reports: "In the 22 times reconciliation has been used, only once has the Senate bill not been changed and sent back to the House. ... To ensure that all provisions of the bill have a budgetary impact, the rules of reconciliation allow Republicans to raise 19 different types of objections." Many of the amendments have been "vetted in advance," MSNBC reports. "'Nobody wants to surprise anybody if we can avoid it,' Gregg said. 'The parliamentarian deserves to have a reasonable amount of information so that he can make a thoughtful decision and is not having to take action in a situation where he hasn't had time to analyze the issue'" (Strickland, 3/22).
Read the entire article.

NPR reports: "the reconciliation bill does have several major tweaks on the earlier Senate bill, such as changing the penalties both for individuals who don't purchase health insurance and for companies that don't provide coverage to employees. It would delay the implementation of the so-called Cadillac tax on generous health care plans an additional five years, until 2018. And it seeks to answer complaints from states about Medicaid costs by increasing the federal share of coverage for those who enroll under the new law" (Greenblatt, 3/21). Read the entire article.

7. Obama savors Health Care Victory, Prepares For Tough Road Ahead
March 22, 2010. Read the entire article.

The Washington Post reports: President Barack Obama is planning to "begin an immediate public relations blitz aimed at turning around Americans' opinion of the health-care bill. ... Reshaping the legislation's image will take place in three phases, White House aides said: the immediate aftermath; the seven months that follow, during which many provisions in the measure will gradually take effect." Democratic lawmakers are also going to be given fact sheets to talk about health reform on their Easter vacations, aides told The Washington Post. In addition, the president plans to take sever trips "to counter what Democrats expect will be an onslaught of criticism and misinformation about the overhaul" (Shear, 3/22). Read the entire article.

The BBC has video and the text of Obama's remarks, delivered Sunday after the vote. "So this isn't radical reform. But it is a major reform. This legislation will not fix everything that ails our health care system. But it moves us decisively in the right direction. This is what change looks like," Obama said (3/22). Read the entire article.

The New York Times reports in an analysis: "After the bitterest of debates, Mr. Obama proved that he was willing to fight for something that moved him to his core. ... At the
core of Mr. Obama’s strategy stands a bet that the Republicans, in trying to portray the bill as veering toward socialism, overplayed their hand. Fueled by the antigovernment anger of the Tea Party movement, Republicans have staked much on the idea that they can protect the country by acting as what the Democrats gleefully call the ‘Party of No.’” White House advisers say Republicans only would have won if health reform would have failed, “(b)ut there is no doubt that in the course of this debate, Mr. Obama has lost something—and lost it for good. Gone is the promise on which he rode to
victory less than a year and a half ago—the promise of a ‘postpartisan’ Washington.” In comments made late Sunday after the House passed the bill, “Mr. Obama acknowledged the political uncertainties ahead even as … he marked the moment shortly before midnight at the White House” (Sanger, 3/21). Read the entire article.

Los Angeles Times reports: “In the months ahead, Obama will face the question of whether his healthcare victory is a high-water mark for a now-exhausted administration, or instead becomes the leaping-off point for victories on other big issues, such as
energy, immigration and financial regulation. But what became clear in the
healthcare debate is that Obama is a president with a combative stubbornness, one that was not often visible in his cool, above-the-fray public demeanor. And he has demonstrated that a president who picks a goal, adopts a battle plan and sticks with it, come what may, is not easy to knock out” (Nicholas, 3/22). Read the entire article.

Politico reports: “The administration also views the victory as a lift-all-boats event that will lend new life to Obama’s legislative agenda—freeing him up to focus largely on economic issues, including more jobs-related legislation, particularly focusing on small businesses, and financial regulatory reform” (Thursh and Lee, 3/21).
Read the entire article.

The Boston Globe reports on some of the hazards related to Obama's apparent success: "The package is still a risk, even if it is signed into law. If people are unhappy with how the plan is working over the next few years, Obama’s reelection and legacy are at stake, said Ross Baker, a Rutgers University political science professor” (Milligan, 3/22). Read the entire article.

Roll Call reports: Not all lawmakers were swayed by Obama. “Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) ... said Friday that he had been ignoring phone calls from the White House that were presumably about his vote. ‘With all due respect to the president, I’ve got to look at what’s best in my district. Whether he’s popular or not popular in my district, I don’t want to get into that,’ Cuellar said. ‘At the end of the day, when we take a vote, he’s not going to be out there supporting me running my election’” (Bendery, 3/22).
Read the entire article.

8. Republicans Sharpen Attacks After Health Vote. March 22, 2010.
Read the entire article.

The New York Times reports: “Even before the final vote, Republicans began relentlessly assailing lawmakers who supported the legislation, suggesting Democrats are spendthrift and proponents of big government. ... A fresh multimillion-dollar wave of television and radio advertisements was to begin Tuesday morning, with groups on both sides of the contentious health care issue trying to influence the lasting impressions about the long legislative debate. ... Republicans also expect to take advantage of the fact that while the health bill may ultimately help contain rising premiums, it is unlikely
to actually bring the cost of health insurance down, and certainly not in the short term” (Zeleny and Stolberg, 3/21). Read the entire article.

Politico reports that several Republican candidates for office across the country quickly used the passage of the health care bill in the House to announce their opposition to the legislation as part of their campaigns. "When I am elected to Congress I will lead the fight to repeal this horrendous legislation,' added Republican Jim Barnett, who is running for the open seat in Kansas's 1st District ... Barrnett was one of many Republicans promising to work toward undoing the landmark legislation" (3/22).
Read the entire article.

Politico, in a seperate store, reports that Republican state attorneys general are already discussing the possibility of a multi-state lawsuit. "We plan to file the moment [President Barack] Obama signs the bill. ... It will lay out why the bill is unconstitutional and tramples individual and states' rights," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott wrote on his Facebook page Sunday (Burns, 3/22). Read the entire article.

9. Democrats Brace For Potential Fallout After Health Overhaul Vote
March 22, 2010
House Democrats likely to confront difficult questions - and even anger - after their votes for health reform. Read the entire article.

Los Angeles Times has a Q & A for consumers, detailing who would have to get health insurance, what programs are available to help them afford it and how the legislation would affect seniors and young adults (Galewitz, 3/21).
Read the entire article.

In a seperate article, Kaiser Health News provides a breakdown of which provisions go into effect each year, from 2010 through 2018 (3/22). Read the entire article.

The New York Times reports: “The uninsured are clearly the biggest beneficiaries of the legislation, which would extend the health care safety net for the lowest-income Americans. ... For people already covered by a large employer—most Americans, in other words—the effect would not be as significant. And yet, just about everyone might benefit from tighter insurance regulations” (Bernard, 3/21). Read the entire article.

The Wall Street Journal reports: “The ban on excluding kids because of illness takes effect six months after passage, but the full adult measure doesn’t kick in until 2014. In the meantime, adults with preexisting conditions who’ve been uninsured for at least six months can enroll in a temporary high-risk pool and receive subsidized premiums, starting three months after the bill’s passage” (Gerencher, 3/22).
Read the entire article.

CNN reports on how small businesses would be affected by the legislation: “By no later
than 2014, states will have to set up Small Business Health Options Programs, or ‘SHOP Exchanges,’ where small businesses will be able to pool together to buy insurance. ... For the next four years, until the SHOP Exchanges are set up, businesses with 10 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees earning less than $25,000 a year on average will be eligible for a tax credit of 35% of health insurance costs” (deMause, 3/22). Read the entire article.

Reuters reports on how the legislation would affect Medicare: “There are no cuts to the traditional Medicare benefit. The lion’s share of spending cuts are in Medicare
Advantage—a program that uses private firms such as Humana and UnitedHealth Group to deliver Medicare benefits. Many of these providers offer extra coverage and some of those extras could be dropped…” And, “Medicare will begin paying for annual wellness visits and increase reimbursements for primary care physicians. Currently Medicare only pays for a general checkup when someone first enters the program and many health analysts believe regular check ups would help improve the overall health of
elderly people and provide for better coordination of care. Also the bill provides for an improvement in the Medicare prescription drug program. The current program includes a significant coverage gap that the legislation will eventually close” (Smith, 3/22).
Read the entire article.

Bloomberg/BusinessWeek reports on new taxes in the legislation: "High-income investors would pay higher Medicare taxes, tax breaks for out-of-pocket medical deductions would be curtailed, and it would cost insurance companies more to pay executives millions of dollars. Those levies will help fund expansion of Medicaid services for the poor and subsidize health insurance to cover millions who don't currently have benefits" (Donmoyer, 3/22). Read the entire article.

12. Some Industry Groups See Boon In Health Bill
March 22, 2010. Read the entire article.

The New York Times reports: “Significant new opportunities exist for health insurers that run Medicaid plans and sell individual insurance products. Still, the industry says it is not happy with the final product because it doesn’t solve the problem of rising health-care costs. Insurers had wanted more substantive changes in the way hospitals and doctors are paid, tying reimbursement to quality rather than volume. In the bill, such payment changes are primarily pilot programs” (Wang, 3/22). Read the entire article.

The Los Angeles Times reports: “Giant health insurers could see revenue jump under Washington’s new health overhaul that will require millions of additional customers to sign up for coverage in the coming years. But large insurers and Wall Street analysts
say the prospect of a revenue bonanza may be tempered by the escalating costs of medical care and by provisions of new legislation that could eat into profits… Insurance industry experts say there is no way to fully gauge the effect because of its extended time frame. Four years from now, they say, Congress and the White House could have new occupants who may try again to reshape the healthcare landscape” (Helfand, 3/22). Read the entire article.

In a seperate story, The Wall Street Journal reports on changes in a reconciliation package, cleared by the House last night but still under consideration in the Senate. “Tucked into President Barack Obama’s health care bill are several 11th-hour changes that help major insurance companies and doctor-owned hospitals. Among the beneficiaries, according to lobbyists and congressional aides, are Kaiser Permanente, the giant California-based insurance company; Geisinger Health Plan based in Pennsylvania; and doctor-owned health facilities in about a dozen states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee” (Fram, 3/21). Read the entire article.

13. Pelosi, Emanuel, Clyburn Among Those Dems Who Played Pivotal Role in House Health Overhaul Passage.
March 22, 2010. Read the entire article.

The Hill reports: “Nancy Pelosi showed Sunday why she is one of the most powerful Speakers in history. In shepherding one of the most controversial bills through the House, Pelosi achieved what some thought what was impossible after Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts two months ago. ... Republicans scoff at the notion that
passing healthcare reform is a win for Pelosi and the Democratic Party, pointing to Brown’s win and the looming election when many Democrats are expected to lose … Still, Republicans privately admit they underestimated Pelosi when she took the gavel in January, 2007.” As for how the win will play to her future, “Pelosi has long said climate change is her flagship issue, but it is unclear whether that measure will pass while she is Speaker. It is clear, however, that her legacy as Speaker will be forever
tied to healthcare reform” (Cusack, 3/21). Read the entire article.

In a seperate story, Politico reports: Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., marking the 45th anniversary of a famed civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, “joined hands with fellow House Democrats and marched past jeering protesters into the Capitol to remake the nation’s health care system.” Protestors outside the Capitol “vented their opposition with chants of ‘Kill the bill,’ booing Democrats and cheering Republicans as
they ran the gantlet of protesters on their way to the floor to vote throughout the day. ... Mr. Lewis said he was not intimidated as he walked to the Capitol with his colleagues, including [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi. In 1965, Mr. Lewis was bloodied and beaten by the police as he marched for civil rights” (Hulse, 3/21). Read the entire article.

Roll Call reports: “Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) resigned from his Congressional seat less than an hour after he voted ‘no’ on the health care reform bill, according to the House Clerk’s office … Deal, who is running for governor in Georgia, originally intended to resign from the seat earlier this month but stayed in order to cast a vote on the health bill” (Kucinich, 3/22). Read the entire article.

14. House Approval Of Reform Package Rested on White House Executive Order On Abortion.
March 22, 2010. Read the entire article.

NPR reports: “Abortion was one of the most contentious issues in this debate from the
very beginning, more than a year ago. A longstanding law—the Hyde Amendment—bars federal funds from being used to pay for elective abortions. It’s an agreement between anti-abortion and pro-abortion rights lawmakers that is so delicate it could balance on a pin.” On Sunday, Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who had led a group of anti-abortion rights lawmakers, reached an agreement with the White House for an executive order that would “protect the sanctity of life, according to Stupak.

“What anti-abortion Democrats couldn’t get into the final bill, they managed to achieve with that executive order: a blanket prohibition on the use of federal funds for elective abortions, the explicit separation of federal subsidies from private money when consumers buy health plans that cover abortions, and a clarification that the new health care laws legally protect hospitals, doctors and other providers that object to providing abortions as a matter of conscience” (Seabrook, 3/22). Read the entire article.

ABC News reports: The House vote to pass sweeping health overhaul legislation “was certain after the House Democratic leadership finalized a deal … with anti-abortion Democrats to vote for the Senate-passed health care bill in exchange for an executive order from Obama affirming no federal funding for abortion” (Khan, Karl and Wolf, 3/21).
Read the entire article.

Time reports: Stupak “said that the leaders were close to reaching 216 without him and he felt this was the best deal his group could get. ... House Democratic sources credited Representative John Dingell, the longest serving member in the history of Congress and dean of the Michigan delegation, for bringing Stupak around” (Small, 3/21). Read the entire article.

CBS News Political Hotsheet reports: “The National Organization for Women released a statement saying it was ‘incensed’ by the White House move.” Meanwhile, some GOP lawmakers who oppose abortion rights held a late afternoon press conference “saying the executive order is ‘not worth the paper it is printed on’ because it can be
rescinded. One called President Obama ‘the most pro-abortion president in history.’ They called for Stupak and the lawmakers other anti-abortion rights lawmakers who have vowed to back the bill to change their minds” (Montopoli, 3/21).
Read the entire article.

Newsweek reports: “The National Right to Life, Americans United for Life, Family Research Council, and Susan B. Anthony List have all come out against the executive
order strategy. Three of Stupak’s anti-abortion rights colleagues, Dan Lipinski, Jerry Costello, and Gene Taylor, still oppose the bill, according to the National Review Online.” But Time points out that, though the anti-abortion rights organizations are unhappy with this agreement, it “is not exactly a win for supporters of abortion rights. The bill’s requirement to strictly segregate funds provides a disincentive for insurers to cover abortion” (Kliff, 3/21). Read the entire article.

CQ reports: “Some Republicans and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops quickly decried the agreement, saying it would not have the same force as a ban written into
law. ... Stupak acknowledged he would have preferred strong statutory language to an executive order. But he said such language could not get through the Senate.” Meanwhile, CQ also reports that negotiations regarding the pending executive order’s wording “stretched on for most of the day. Abortion-rights supporters pushed for changes to an early draft but agreed to support the final version, so long as it did not go beyond current law in restricting federal funding of abortion services or banning discrimination against health care providers who object to the procedure” (Benson and Ota, 3/21). Read the entire article.

State Watch

15. States Pomder Impacts Of Health Bill
News outlets examine how lawmakers from different states voted and what states have to gain and loss from the national overhaul. March 22, 2010. Read the entire article.

BusinessWeek/Bloomberg reports: “Health legislation passed yesterday by the U.S. House changes some rules immediately on insurance coverage while leaving much of the fight over how to remake the medical system to federal regulators, states and courts. ... [I]t will be up to U.S. regulators and state lawmakers to structure the
marketplaces where health plans will compete, write the rules governing their profit and decide which medical benefits must be covered.”

“Officials in Idaho and Virginia have promised lawsuits over the bills’ mandate that all Americans get insured” (Nussbaum, 3/22). Read the entire article.

The San Francisco Chronicle Reports: “The stakes are high for Californians when it comes to the health care overhaul, mainly because the coverage problems in this vast state are so large. ... ‘When this is fully implemented in 2014 or beyond, we will see
some two-thirds or more (of the uninsured) getting coverage and, with that, better access to care and more affordable coverage,’ said Marian Mulkey, senior program officer for the California HealthCare Foundation, an independent philanthropy group based in Oakland. But not everyone will benefit. Medicare beneficiaries who have certain types of policies may experience disruptions and high-income earners will pay more in taxes. And California will still be left with a large number of uninsured, including
illegal immigrants, who either don’t qualify for the reforms or are exempted from them” (Colliver, 3/22). Read the entire article.

The Dallas Morning News reports: “The state with the most to gain from a health insurance overhaul was also the state with the most lawmakers who voted against the bill on Sunday. Twenty-one of 32 lawmakers from Texas, including 20 Republicans, voted against the measure. The opponents said the legislation was overwhelmingly
unpopular in their districts, although it would offer insurance to more than half of Texas’ 6 million uninsured. ... The vote took place on a day when protesters, a few waving Texas flags, gathered outside the Capitol and chanted ‘Kill the Bill’” (Michaels, 3/22).

Read the entire article.

The Boston Globe reports: “Although Massachusetts already has the lowest rate of uninsured residents in the country because of its own health care coverage expansion, the measure voted upon by the House yesterday would have significant impacts on
the state.” That includes a $2 billion boost in Medicaid assistance over 10 years, a much lower tax penalty for individuals without insurance and some residents would get federal subsidies to buy insurance (3/22). Read the entire article.

Editorials and Opinions:

16. Today's Opinions and Editorials: Some See House's Vote In The Interest Of The Majority While Others Decry Bipartisian, Costly Effort.
March 22, 2010. Read the entire article.

The Wall Street Journal reports: Will Health Reform Wreck Us? Hardly. This week’s votes don’t end our health-care debates. By making medical care a subsidiary of Washington, they guarantee such debates will never end. And by ramming the vote through Congress on a narrow partisan majority, and against so much popular opposition, Democrats have taken responsibility for what comes next—to insurance premiums, government spending, doctor shortages and the quality of care. They are now the rulers of American medicine (3/21). Read the entire article.

The New York Times reports: It's Over! Health Care Is Passed. Will It Really Work? The process was wrenching, and tainted to the 11th hour by narrow political obstructionism, but the year-long struggle over health care reform came to an end on Sunday night with a triumph for countless Americans who have been victimized or neglected by their dysfunctional health care system. Barack Obama put his presidency on the line for an accomplishment of historic proportions (3/21). Read the entire article.

CBS News/The New Republic reports: Victory - At What Cost? Let me offer a ludicrously premature opinion: Barack Obama has sealed his reputation as a president of great historical import. ... He has put his imprint on the structure of American government in a way that no Democratic president since Lyndon Johnson has. The last two generations have no model for such a president (Jonathan Chait, 3/22).
Read the entire article.