Jonathan Weisman and Jeffery H. Birnbaum share page one of the business section in Wednesday's Washington Post in coverage of the illusive issue of tax reform. [For some background on the issue, check out this piece.] The article is great fodder for political junkies like this blogger as it catches up with two politicians long since driven out of Washington. In "Tax Reform Veterans See Hurdles Ahead", they lead thusly:

The two primary architects of Congress's last major tax reform say President Bush so far has failed to lay the groundwork for his ambitious tax agenda and will have to invest a vast amount of political capital to succeed in broadly simplifying the tax code.

Former representative Dan Rostenkowski, an Illinois Democrat, who chaired the House Ways and Means Committee during the battle over the 1986 tax reform act, and former senator Robert Packwood, a Republican from Oregon, who headed the Senate Finance Committee, disagree on the ultimate prospects. Rostenkowski gives tax reform little chance while Packwood is more sanguine

[...]

Both Rostenkowski and Packwood left Congress in the 1990s under a cloud, with Rostenkowski under indictment for corruption charges and Packwood immersed in a sex scandal. But they shared a triumph, the 1986 tax reform act, which lowered tax rates, simplified the income tax system and closed a slew of tax loopholes that had been allowing affluent companies and individuals to escape taxation altogether.

Packwood is now a lobbyist in Washington, and Rostenkowski is a corporate consultant. Now that Bush has signaled he will pursue his campaign pledge to simplify the tax code, the two tarnished ex-lawmakers may be back in demand.

Whenever you get an article with both Packwood and Rostenkowski, you know it's going to be good. Weisman and Birnbaum delve into the history of the 1986 Tax Reform bill and relate it to the situation faced by the Bush administration today. It's a definite must-read for those interested in that type of stuff [this blogger included].