As Barack Obama battled Hillary Rodham Clinton over health care during the Democratic presidential primaries of 2008, he was adamant about one thing: Americans, he insisted, should not be required to buy health insurance.

Former Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and former Clinton budget director Alice Rivlin will tell the supercommittee Tuesday that it must tackle both Medicare and tax code reform in order to put a credible dent in the national debt.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who attempted to overhaul the nation's healthcare insurance as first lady during President Clinton's first term, has a couple of words for President Obama's success during his first term: "Thank goodness.''

The lessons of the Clintons' failed attempt to overhaul health care in 1994 explains some of Obama's current troubles.

Had the Clinton plan become law, it's quite possible--maybe even likely--that managed care would have done what Clinton and his allies had hoped: emphasized prevention and personalized, coordinated care, all while saving money. Although Obama and his allies might not admit it, they are basically trying to carry out that vision, albeit more gently. And they are absolutely right to do so.

Obama's health-reform effort may be too fixated on the past.