Max Baucus keeps saying all the right things. From his opening statements at today's "health care and the economy" hearing:
In Washington, people often present choices between alternatives — between option A and option B. And it is often the case that the right choice between option A and option B . . . is “Yes.” The right choice is often to reject that false choice. We often can, in LBJ's famous phrase, “walk and chew gum at the same time.”
We are clearly facing a significant recession. That economic challenge commands a significant investment of government resources. Some say that we will have to choose between fixing the economy and enacting comprehensive health reform.
I reject that false choice. I say, we can and should do both. We can walk and chew gum at the same time. Not only can we, but we have to.
Health care reform is not a distraction from addressing the economy. Health care reform is central to restoring America's economy.
The costs of inaction, both in human terms and financial terms, are greater than the costs of reform.