The NYT published today a fascinating (and somewhat frustrating) look at health care reform’s supporters and detractors in Congress, by FiveThirtyEight‘s Nate Silver and two co-authors. Their thesis:

Critics of the health care reform plan often refer to it derisively as “ObamaCare.” On the policy merits, this is highly questionable: the White House has taken a hands-off approach toward the legislation that recently passed in the House and the Senate version that Harry Reid unveiled on Wednesday. But when it comes to politics, “ObamaCare” could hardly be more apt: lawmakers’ support for or opposition to reform generally has less to do with the views of their constituents and more to do with the issue of presidential popularity.