Let's just say the response has been less than overwhelming. And I'm honestly not sure what dumped more rain on this parade, the lengthy, rope-a-dope buildup to this coming out party or the simple, sad lack of originality in this legislation?

Oh, sure, Mad Max cut the price tag, but what's $50 billion or so between government programs? Speaking of which, this thing reads like a case study in "good news, bad news." The bill omits a formal public option, but establishes a network of nonprofit co-ops. New taxes would pay for less than half the tab, but the excepted savings from fraud reduction and increased efficiencies is wildly optimistic. And while there are individual mandates, there is no such compulsion for businesses.

But those are the least of this bill's problems. It also includes a flat out expansion of Medicaid (at the expense of Medicare) and caps on annual health care costs and new fees (the new word for taxes) for carriers.

Funny thing is, this was supposed to be the big bipartisan bill that would address everyone's concerns. But Mad Max rolled this out without a single Republican supporter.

Think I lost my appetite for cake this year.

Next week we'll take a closer look at these so-called cooperatives and stay tuned with all the latest news out of D.C. with our new Health Care Reform Watch eNewsletter.