Sen. Hillary Clinton's health plan received a warm reception when it was released September 17. Ezra Klein of the American Prospect, Jon Cohn of The New Republic, and Paul Krugman of The New York Times each offered praise. Even resident Times conservative David Brooks opined that the plan was "a huge step forward from 1993. It's better than the GOP candidates' plans." Rich Lowry of National Review admitted, "She re-enters the health care debate from a position of strength."

To be sure, there was the expected grumbling from supporters of single-payer national health insurance, and the predictable overheated attacks from the Republican presidential contenders. All in all, however, the launch was about as successful as a policy debut could be, erasing for a moment the bad memories of the early 1990s reform debacle that has come to be seen as Senator Clinton's main legacy on the issue.

All this raises an obvious question: Why should we expect anything different this time? Is this moment more auspicious than when Clinton last battled for this issue? And if so, why?

Actually, the possibilities for reform are greater today. That's one reason I've spent much of the last few years promoting an approach similar in crucial respects to those embraced by John Edwards, Barack Obama, and Clinton.

Sen. Hillary Clinton's health plan received a warm reception when it was released September 17. Ezra Klein of the American Prospect, Jon Cohn of The New Republic, and Paul Krugman of The New York Times each offered praise. Even resident Times conservative David Brooks opined that the plan was "a huge step forward from 1993. It's better than the GOP candidates' plans." Rich Lowry of National Review admitted, "She re-enters the health care debate from a position of strength."

To be sure, there was the expected grumbling from supporters of single-payer national health insurance, and the predictable overheated attacks from the Republican presidential contenders. All in all, however, the launch was about as successful as a policy debut could be, erasing for a moment the bad memories of the early 1990s reform debacle that has come to be seen as Senator Clinton's main legacy on the issue.

All this raises an obvious question: Why should we expect anything different this time? Is this moment more auspicious than when Clinton last battled for this issue? And if so, why?

Actually, the possibilities for reform are greater today. That's one reason I've spent much of the last few years promoting an approach similar in crucial respects to those embraced by John Edwards, Barack Obama, and Clinton.