Like much of the "says one thing, does another" reporting these days, this piece is a little bit naive. Can you believe that about the NYT? Here's why I say so: Health-care reform was a central issue in the Obama campaign. If the candidate was sincere, of course he will, as president, take an active interest in how the legislation is shaped. His public stance of letting Congress work out the details is only realistic, because at this point, that's where the necessary votes ... More »

I like the article's headon approach to Grassley's deceit. But any solid report on this counseling issue should at least paraphrase the relevant part of the legislation. It also should point out that such counseling has been widely recommended by investment advisers, estate planners and family physicians for the past decade. This is so even if the HP has done both in previous articles.

Excellent reporting! He dug to the bottom of the controversy, using an authoritative source who cannot be accused of being an Obama partisan.

The other reviewers correctly point out the unfairness of the article and the headline. Both imply presidential favoritism, even though the article eventually goes on to contradict the suggestion that Illinois somehow had an inside track. It's probably not right to blame the reporter for the headline. In most shops, an editor would have written that. But the headline does reflect how the article started out, so it's not surprising to see that. Since Illinois is the fifth ... More »

Yes, it's definitely quality journalism. It responsibly addresses a genuine public issue, and sets out a couple of new ideas for examination.

The editors were smart to break the story into short units. It let the several writers focus on their own topics and provided a piece that someone in a hurry could scan for the field they were most interested in. The traditional narrative structure might have had comparable reporting, but the smart organization made this piece very user-friendly.

Yes, definitely. I want to share it with all the teachers I know.

This reporter drills down to where people live.