Bad News, Good News

Let's reverse the usual order and start with the bad news: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he's willing to waive "pay as you go" rules to get a one-year fix for the alternative minimum tax. It didn't make a difference yesterday, but this will certainly be a factor when the Senate tries again in December. And this could be serious bad news for fiscal responsibility.

The good news is that the Senate Democrats seem to be backing away from a plan to limit access to key documents federal agencies submit to explain their budget requests. They were getting hit from all sides on this one -- and certainly it would be a blow to the cause of transparency and trust.