Adding on to Karen’s post below, this is a terrific profile by Ezra Unrelated Klein of one of the most important, but least known members of the Senate, Max Baucus. Why is Baucus so important? Because his Senate Finance Committee has the last word on getting a health care plan through the Senate. As Karen reported, Baucus has laid out some general principles he’ll be following in putting together that bill. Here’s Ezra’s take on the substance and politics of what Baucus has proposed.
A note on sequencing: It’s not impossible that the spring of 2009 will be all about Obama’s stimulus package, including a major alternative-energy/infrastructure program…and the autumn of 2009 will be about the Baucus caucus. I’ll have more about the stimulus plan in my print column tomorrow.