Max's Adventures in Wonderland

by David Harsanyi

For Philistines like me, the mysteries of Washington can be both perplexing and wondrous. If you've been watching noted alchemist Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., conjure up health care gold this week, you probably know what I mean.

Mercifully, House and Senate Democrats recently blocked amendments that would have required health care bills to be posted online for 72 hours before a committee vote, sparing us the needless irritation of grappling with fancy facts about the most consequential piece of legislation in recent memory.

No need to get into the weeds for you and me. No way. Just think of legislation as abstract art. The Congressional Budget Office does.

The CBO's new estimate, which magically meets every one of President Barack Obama's preconditions, is based on "conceptual" language provided by Baucus rather than on any of those maddeningly specific Arabic numerals.

That's because the estimate isn't rooted in an actual bill per se, nor does it incorporate hundreds of amendments that will be part of any final product -- well, not exactly ... What we do have is a CBO that has been browbeaten long enough by the White House to finally summon the conviction to get a figure that so many wanted to hear.

It's also, believe it or not, free...  Read the whole article.