Amid the frenzies of the holiday, another would-be terrorist attack, there occurred in Washington something many of the populace thought would never happen: Harry Reid (D-Nevada) managed to pull together the entire Democratic caucus to pass the Senate version of the health care bill. The Republicans of course are screaming bloody murder, but Reid deserves a congratulatory note that Dionne in today's WaPo gets with some force:

Still, there is a rote quality to the attacks on Reid that flies in the face of what he accomplished . The simple truth is that Reid did what much of wise Washington thought was impossible: He united the entire Democratic caucus, from Joe Lieberman to Bernie Sanders, to support a health-care bill that is the most far-reaching piece of social legislation since the 1960s.He confronts an unprecedented form of Republican obstruction -- yes, it's really unprecedented, you can look it up. Even Olympia Snowe, that most moderate of Republicans, refused to negotiate unless Reid postponed action on the bill, a delay that would very likely have led to its death.

You bet he made deals, including the now highly controversial buyout of Nebraska's extra Medicaid costs to win the 60th vote for the bill from Sen. Ben Nelson.

You should notice this about political analysis: When a writer admires a wheeler-dealer, he or she inevitably compares that politician to Lyndon B. Johnson and typically asks: Why can't others be more like LBJ? When a writer wants to condemn the same sort of horse-trading, LBJ recedes and some other metaphor -- the popular one now is "Chicago-style politics" -- is wielded to imply highly unprincipled behavior. With just a few keystrokes, shrewd pragmatism is transformed into terribly sinful activity.

Lord knows, I don't blame Republicans in the least for being mad at Harry Reid. He beat them at their own game. In our great republic, Republicans are free to call him any name they wish between now and the next election -- and they will.

Those who aspire to be nonpartisan, however, need to pause in their excoriations of Reid long enough to note that he pulled off something very big. Sen. Tom Harkin may have been a little over the top when he praised Reid last week for "the patience of Job, the wisdom of Solomon and the endurance of Samson." But for now, at least, credit him with the toughness of LBJ, the listening skills of Tip O'Neill and the canniness of Sam Rayburn. He deserves that much.

E. J. Dionne Jr.,  Washington Post, 12/28/09