Putting the health care debate in historical perspective

C-SPAN ran an interesting program on LBJ and the creation of Medicare. If you have some time — about an hour-and-a-half — listen to these tapes.

Certainly any piece of legislation as comprehensive as Medicare, or the health reform bills currently in Congress, is subject to tense, and contentious, negotiations.

But if we are able to expand insurance to more than 30 million Americans this bill will be studied for generations as a great legislative feat.