For those of you who are interested, Brad DeLong has reincarnated an old piece he wrote on the Clinton Administration's attempt to reform health care. Brad worked on that project, so his insights are really interesting.
More over the flip
This should be of interest to all of us on many levels. First and foremost, it is a great (and first hand) description of policy making gone awry. It shows all the rookie mistakes Clinton made in the early days of his administration. It shows how important it is to have someone in the cockpit who actually knows how to make policy. This is particularly important in evaluating the current crop of Democratic presidential aspirants: How many of them have ever taken a sophisticated approach to making policy --- on anything?
And DeLong's piece also gives a glimpse into what senator Clinton must have experienced in a very formative part of her political career. You can certainly criticize her performance here, and many will. But you also have to wonder what she learned from this. It was, afterall, policy-making at a very high-stakes level and she lost big time. HRC may be a political opportunist, but no one can say she's stupid or disorganized.
And this is particularly pertinent because, like 1992, health care reform is likely to be one of the most important political issues this cycle.
So read it to see what it really takes to get something significant through Congress (or how to blow it). Read it to dig up an important part of senator Clinton's political archeology. But read it because it is a beautifully written take on one of the most important political battles of the last twenty years.