[untwist]

This is an expensive political win for Bush, but a win nonetheless. In FL, where I live, this is the kind of situation that deflates the Dems, who are overwhelmingly the retiree vote. With Bob Graham's senate seat up for grabs this can tilt the vote to the GOP nominee. Daschle and Kennedy promise a filibuster on this in the senate. That will be a political disaster for them. Go ahead and sustain a filibuster, kill the bill and further alienate AARP going into an election year. Bush and Rove really have them hogtied here.

[petercooper]

This is LOSE/LOSE. The dims are not that stupid that they'll filibuster it. They will put up a little stink, Frist will cave on anything they want and the Dims will claim credit. The U.S. taxpayer will be left holding a trillion dollar bill for Granny's drugs. Granny doesn't need this bill. We don't need it. This is not Europe. (yet)

Bush is the biggest spending president in recent history. Enough is enough! He's been great on defense and taxes.. Everything else, he's no better than Ted KEnnendy.

[goldstategop]

I suspect it will never become law, which is good news. What's even more good news is to see the Democrats run against seniors and managed care in an election year. This Republican and his elderly father both belong to an HMO. Guess who I will vote for next year and isn't going to be Nikita Dean!

[LS]

while I in no way predict this will happen, it is still not beyond all possibility that if Bush gets his 60-vote majority, a "new" Medicare reform could come up in 2005 in which they say, "Oops! We underestimated the Medicare deficit. We need further [market] reforms!" and BAM! pass them.

Just saying, it's a possibility.