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I checked over at DU...they are furious because Bush will get credit for giving seniors prescription drugs. That makes me happy. I think this passage is a win for Bush even though we have a few disgruntled conservatives here. Bush delivered to seniors...clinton didn't. Period.

Do you fully understand the consequences of this? Seniors who currently have coverage may very likely end up with worse coverage than they currently enjoy. Profit margins of pharma companies will be negatively impacted, and as a result less money will be available to reinvest in R&D. Major long-term damage to pharmaceutical innovation will be the legacy of this bill. (Not to mention more income redistribution)

And will this help the GOP? The Democrats will continue to promise seniors more benefits should they be elected - they'll always outspend the GOP. It's not a foregone conclusion that this will gain any votes for the GOP.

I'm astonished that folks like yourself can be "happy" over this bill. At what point does real-world impact outweigh potential short-term political benefit? Who cares if the folks at DU are unhappy - they're too stupid to understand the import of this bill anyway, and are merely upset that "their side" lost. For the same reason you're happy that "your side" won. But this isn't a game, you know.

"Do you fully understand the consequences of this? Seniors who currently have coverage may very likely end up with worse coverage than they currently enjoy. Profit margins of pharma companies will be negatively impacted, and as a result less money will be available to reinvest in R&D. Major long-term damage to pharmaceutical innovation will be the legacy of this bill. (Not to mention more income redistribution)"

OTOH, the Democrats say that this bill is a huge giveaway to the pharma companies and protects their pocketbooks. That was one of their reasons against the bill. They wanted to force drug prices down through various govt coercive means. hmm.