The War of the CBO Directors

The debate over healthcare has pitted Democrat against Republican, Conservative Against Liberal, Young against Old . . . and CBO Director against CBO Director.  Obviously Peter Orszag, who is now the head of Obama's Office of Management and Budget, is a big supporter of the proposed reforms.  Doug Elmendorf seems worried about the cost-cutting side, but his job is to be cryptic.  Doug Holtz-Eakin, who recently did a star turn as McCain's chief economic advisor, has been pretty vocally outspoken against it.  And now June O'Neill, who was CBO director during the middle of the Clinton administration, has made an ad saying we need a rethink:



I'm trying, and failing, to think of any issue in which so many CBO directors have gotten so vocally involved.  Perhaps because there are few issues outside of healthcare that so directly implicate an already frightening fiscal picture.