Frum made the point that the bill features some language republicans used for their health care ideas during the Clinton wars. I haven't looked it up yet, but if true that's definitely interesting.
It would have only taken a couple republican senators to get a deal, maybe less subsidies and more malpractice reform for instance. With that, they could have walked away from the table with a modest victory ("we got tort reform and had Obama cut pork barrel spending out the bill hurrr"). Instead they walk away with their hands totally empty; even though the bill features more than a few republican "ideas" and amendments, they've spent the last year telling the American people that democrats totally ignored them.
This is what the legislature process looks like, and yes it's quite American. In fact, what does this say about Bush's legislative legacy. Republicans had the presidency and congress for six years and managed to start a war, give rich people tax cuts, create the perscription drug donut hole, create No Child Left Behind, and let energy companies write the energy bill. All while racking up massive debt and deficits.
In contrast, Obama has passed a stimulus package and managed to do something multiple presidents have failed at over the last century: a comprehensive (I'm not calling this universal) health care bill.
