Today's opinions and editorials

Health Reform That Won't Break The Bank The Washington Post
Some critics complain that the administration has slipped in its commitment to fiscal responsibility in health reform. These critics are mistaken. The president's plan represents an important step toward long-term fiscal sustainability (Peter Orszag and Nancy-Ann DeParle, 3/5).

The President's Health Plan Won't Cut The Budget Deficit  Kaiser Health News
What the president's plan would deliver, however, is dead-certain entitlement spending, financed with speculative revenue and spending cuts that almost certainly will not work as advertised (James Capretta, 3/5).

Onward With Obamacare, Regardless The Washington Post
The time for debate is over, declared the nation's seminar leader in chief. The man who vowed to undo Washington's devious and wicked ways has directed the Congress to ram Obamacare through, by one vote if necessary (Charles Krauthammer, 3/5).

Dems Should Use 'Nuclear Option' To Pass Health Care Overhaul McClatchy
"Reconciliation" sounds much less threatening than "nuclear option." … Republicans, however, will try to paint reconciliation as an extreme alternative, one that undermines the entire legislative process. But that is bunk (James Werrell, 3/5).

Senator Bunning's Universe The New York Times
If Congress enacts reform in the next few weeks — and the odds are growing that it will — it will do so without any Republican votes. Some people will decry this, insisting that President Obama should have tried harder to gain bipartisan support [for the health overhaul]. But that isn't going to happen, on health care or anything else, for years to come (Paul Krugman, 3/4).

What A Disaster Looks Like The Wall Street Journal
New presidents should never, ever, court any problem that isn't already banging at the door. They should never summon trouble. Mr. Obama did, boldly, perhaps even madly (Peggy Noonan, 3/4).

Obama Goes Nuclear The American Spectator
More than anything else, Barack Obama's political rise was defined by the promise that he would usher in an era of post-partisanship after the bitter divisiveness that scarred Washington during the Bush years. ... But any chance Obama had of living up to his well-honed image as a post-partisan leader was tossed aside on Wednesday, as the president urged Democrats in Congress to disregard public opinion and ram through his health care bill using a parliamentary maneuver that doesn't require bipartisan support (Philip Klein, 3/4).