Dissecting Obamacare Politics...

Near-history, the journalistic reconstruction of contemporary events, has come to be dominated by two schools. The first is represented by Michael Lewis... His books have won him many admirers (including me) because they offer deceptively simple narratives in the service of a grand canonical theme...The second school is associated with the Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward. Woodwardian history is kaleidoscopic,  The reporter makes many telephone calls and office visits, and reads many documents. All key players are represented and events detailed. The approach is sociological: the great theme of the Woodward school is the interaction of institutions and vested interests. In a Lewis, if you remove the titles of the characters and simply identify them by their first names, nothing is lost: an individual’s character, not his position, is what matters. In a Woodward, the opposite is often true. Names may be irrelevant; titles tell you what you need to know.

From Malcolm Gladwell's review of “America’s Bitter Pill” by Steven Brill, a book about the Affordable Care Act's construction and "Brill’s attempt at a Woodward."  Of course, the old saying comes to mind: "Laws, like sausages, are better off not being watched as they are made."