Bush's generics gambit

There is widespread agreement inside the Washington Beltway that the White House made a brilliant political move last week when it proposed to close legal loopholes used by pharmaceutical companies to extend the market exclusivity of drugs going off patent. According to critics, the proposed new rules for generics are more likely to affect the November elections than they are to be enacted.

The rulemaking takes much of the punch away from widespread concerns about prescription drug prices - one of the Democrats’ most potent election issues - and allows Republicans to rebuff charges that they have been corrupted by the drug industry’s enormous campaign contributions...