Is Our Senators Learning?

Apparently not. (Via Yglesias)

I think you rarely see a sitting Senator be as reflective about the legislative process as Max Baucus is here when he says he regrets that the idea of a single-payer health care system was left out of the mix:

He conceded that it was a mistake to rule out a fully government-run health system, or a “single-payer plan,” not because he supports it but because doing so alienated a large, vocal constituency and left Mr. Obama’s proposal of a public health plan to compete with private insurers as the most liberal position.

I find myself feeling about the same way I did when I heard yesterday's news. While it's good that this legislative battle has taught the chair of an extremely important senate committee how politics works, you really have to wonder why he couldn't have understood these lessons at say... some earlier point in his 31 year senate career.

It's hard to think of any other career where someone can be that incompetent for so many years and still easily retain their job. Other than NBA head coach, that is.