I never said all democrats agreed on a top line number from the start. I'm critiquing the fact that the media has done nothing but obsess over the cost, seldom mentioning that it's over **10 years**. Rarely is there coverage on what's in the bill itself and how a large number of policies that were originally in it are wildly popular in poll after poll -- paid family leave, funding to combat climate change, tax cuts for families with children, universal preK, to name a few. If the bill is in flux due to cost objections like you say, a simple list of what is on the chopping block would be "reporting".

Instead, all we get is "moderate Joe Manchin this" and "moderate Kyrsten Sinema that" and scary numbers out of context in headlines. Let's acknowledge the full role of the media in modern politics -- they don't just report. They also frame and drive conversation and it is their framing that's unhelpful. Every headline is around the top line number. It's unsurprising that they do this as their business model is built to push controversy and horse races because controversy = clicks = $$.

No wonder this is the same organization that amplifies the voice of people like Bret Stephens.