Both sides now

Timothy McNulty | November 27, 2009

The NYT looks at Bob Casey in the crossfire over abortion coverage in health care reform:

The reputation that came with the Bob Casey name is now turning the senator into a pivotal if reluctant player in one of the most contentious debates in the health care overhaul: how to avoid using taxpayer money for abortion while extending insurance subsidies to millions of Americans. As the only senator committed to remaking health care and opposing abortion, he is the lone senator actively working for a compromise that might defuse the issue, a position that has made him a special target of attacks.

"Both sides shooting at you," Mr. Casey said Wednesday in an interview.

And both sides draw ammunition from the memory of his father. "I always get comparisons," Mr. Casey acknowledged, "and often not to my benefit."