NEWS AND COMMENT

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered a fiery anti-Israeli speech ...., calling the Holocaust “a lie,”....

He also believes that the proposed health care reform plan provides for "death panels" and that President Obama was not born in the U.S.


Elizabeth Warren for Senate?

I'd vote for her to run for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. And maybe for a Warren/Rachel Maddow presidential ticket

THE BAUCUS REPORT

Finally, the blue ribbon panel of six "wise men" from the Senate Finance Committee has issued its health care reform plan. The elephant has labored mightily and brought forth a mouse. In addition to being a gift to insurance and drug companies, its vaunted goal of bipartisanship has failed to be realized. Practically no one supports this plan.

Rumor has it that this plan could have been released in June. Endless hours of meetings, conference calls, and negotiations produced few changes since then. Meanwhile, the resulting legislative standstill gave Republicans time to organize those loud, crazy performances in town hall meetings that have damaged reform prospects.

Way to go! It was a bad idea to leave so much for Congress to work out and even worse to pursue bipartisanship through this odd committee.

HEALTH CARE AGAIN

To get serious reform, it seems that the Democrats must act without any Republican support. So President Obama must bring the recalcitrant Democrats into line. I suggested earlier that if the threat to run a primary challenge against them doesn't work, Obama should lock each one in a room where Rahm Emanuel can speak to them while Reggie Love hovers. Maybe he should add one more persuader - Serena Williams.