Monday's big news that Harry Reid was opting for the public option in the Senate health care bill provided one of those rare clarifying moments in American politics that actually exceeded the hype it generated. In one fell (and potentially felling) swoop, the soft-spoken Senate Majority Leader gave Democrats sole ownership over the riskiest experiment in social policy since the New Deal, gave the kiss of death to Obama's still-born hope of a new post-partisan era and, most significantly, cemented the reactionary battle lines that will likely shape our national elections for years to come.

Washington, of course, is focused primarily on the short-term score--the immediate impact of Reid's decision on the vote count and the left's clout. The former is uncertain at this point; Reid...