Arena: Are Democrats or Republicans hurt more by ties to Goldman Sachs?
Robert Zelnick: In politics as in many other areas of life, timing is everything. The GOP "lost" the health care battle against Barack Obama in the sense that both Houses eventually produced enough "Ays"for the bill to become law. Politically, however, it was a Pyrric victory. The Republican leadership correctly read the mood of the public as anti-bureaucracy, anti- big new mandates to states and citizens, and anti-over-the horizon financial obligations. The Administration compounded the fallout by letting its Capitol Hill allies draft a sloppy bill with key issues unresolved and legal questions galore.
