Remember when self-anointed Senate "moderates" made a big show of wringing their hands about the size of Obama's stimulus package?

The political media loved it, partially because such alligator-concern offers the requisite "he-said she-said" narrative found in most reporting.

But it's mostly posturing - protest about the size of Obama's stimulus package was arbitrary - Collins would have demanded a reduction no matter the size of the proposal. How else could she inject themselves into the debate as a "serious moderate?"

So what did the moderates slash? Flu preparedness:

As The Nation's John Nichols points out, not only did Collins kill off the $900 million pandemic preparedness proposal--a budgetary execution called for by that well-regarded public health expert Karl Rove--Collins even brags on her Senate website about blocking passage of the pandemic preparedness initiative.

Of course. Of course.