DID HE JUST CALL FOR DIRECTING FIRE AT THE BLACK GUY?:

Mad at Max: Direct some anger at Max Baucus toward the president. (John Dickerson, Sept. 17, 2009, Slate)

But the tinkering can only go so far, because for all of its shortcomings, Baucus' bill is also what Senate Democrats are calling "the White House bill."

Perhaps some of the fire aimed at Baucus should be redirected at the president. The legislation accomplishes much of what Obama laid out in his speech before the joint session of Congress earlier this month. The bill is not only deficit-neutral, according to the Congressional Budget Office, but it also shrinks long-term health care costs. Both are key Obama pledges. The legislation also includes insurance reforms, expands coverage and has not upset the careful coalition of industry groups the White House worked so hard to align at the start of this process.

How can you hold Mr. Obama, who never produced a piece of legislation in his career, responsible for the bill?

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 18, 2009 7:10 AM