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Last Word (today) On Fiscal Responsibility

Just now at the fiscal responsibility summit, budget director Peter Orszag reiterated President Obama's commitment to reforming health care this year. America faces as an entitlements problem, but, Orszag reminded everybody, "Health care reform is entitlement reform." This was after an introduction by Bob Greenstein, longtime director of the Center for Budget and Policy and Priorities, who made the same essential point.

And, yes, Senator John McCain was among the many conservatives in attendance. This was a summit, after all, designed to include members of both parties and a broad ideological spectrum. But you may not have recognized the man sitting directly behind McCain. It was Ron Pollack, director of FamiliesUSA, the health care reform advocacy group. (Among the other liberal health care advocates in also in attendance, according to White House press materials, were Roger Hickey, who leads Health Care for America Now, and Andy Stern, who is president of the Service Employees International Union.)

For yet more background on health care and the nation's fiscal problems--because you can never get enough!--I heartily recommend Ezra Klein's new column as well as the "Fiscal High Road" site sponsored by the Century Foundation and Demos (where I'm a senior fellow).

--Jonathan Cohn