On Xmas eve, healthcare reform by the numbers

On this Christmas eve, US Senators representing two thirds of the American public voted in favor of the most sweeping reform of healthcare in our nation’s history.

So, first point: There was nothing anti-democratic here. This was a broad daylight, all-eyes-on-you decision by a Democratic Party that is currently functioning with a massive mandate.

More numbers? By now, everyone understands that this reform package is a muddle at best, a mess at worst. It’s too expensive and doesn’t do enough, and that’s a lousy combination.

So, second point: The fix needs fixing, and that will come. Despite rhetoric from the Right, legislation of this kind isn’t carved in stone.

Cost containment will have to follow, or the Chinese will stop collecting our IOUs.

And finally, it should by now be clear to everyone that the peculiar dynamics of this Democratic moment in history are profoundly centrist.

The one ‘liberal’ aspect of this bill is that it will likely be very expensive. (I’m very skeptical about the CBO’s report.)

Responding to political necessity, reform backers jettisoned every single progressive standard, from single payer to the public option.

And President Barack Obama never objected.

Mr. Obama comes from the US Senate; and true to his political roots, he is neither a culture warrior nor a fire-burner.

He is an incrementalist, a tweaker, a step-by-step manager.

With Harry Reid running the US Senate and a very powerful Blue Dog wing, what you see is what you get.

In this case, Democrats moved healthcare reform farther than any other political movement in the last half-century.

Will that be enough for America?

Will Mr. Obama’s temperate demeanor assuage some of the hostility from conservatives? Or will it merely inflame impatient liberals, who want bigger steps faster?

The biggest number in all these calculations is 2010, when once again the American people will chime in and tell Washington if it’s on the right track.