Samuelson Gets It

"Politicians, in their most self-important moments, see themselves as instruments of national destiny. They yearn to be remembered as the architects and agents of great social and economic transformations. They want to be at the signing ceremony; they want a pen. Ordinary Americans are rightly suspicious of this exercise in collective ego gratification, which has gripped Obama and many of his congressional allies [as they draft their health care reform bills]. Even when the goals are worthy -- as they are here -- the temptation to exaggerate, simplify and sugarcoat often proves irresistible."

-- Robert Samuelson, Washington Post