If the Democrats succeed in passing ObamaCare next week, they could indeed usher in a new era - but not the one they want.

The conventional wisdom (which President Obama and I apparently share) is that any entitlement bill, no matter how bad, will remain on the books once it's passed.

But we've never had an entitlement bill opposed by four-fifths of the electorate, rammed through on a partisan vote that requires a highly dubious parliamentary maneuver.  And one that will add trillions to the public sector deficits at a time when people are already worried about government spending.

So what if it passed, and the Democrats hemorrhaged seats next November - and the bill were subsequently repealed?  This would  indeed be the dawn of a new era, and one with profound implications for subsequent entitlement reform.

This is a long shot and, like 81% of the public, I fervently hope ObamaCare either fades away or goes down to defeat.  But if it passes, maybe the truly appalling dimensions of this mistake will jolt us into true systemic reforms.