Every time Wonks Anonymous listens to Senator McCain explain his health plan he gets a little bit more confused. Tonight's debate was no exception.

Wonks Anonymous discovered tonight that even families with employer provided health insurance would get the $5,000 tax credit. If Wonks Anonymous heard correctly the credit would offset the taxes they would pay on health insurance. If any money was left over they could spend it on health care or additional insurance.

Which is not at all the way that Wonks Anonymous interpreted the plan outlined by McCain's advisers. After all, this would mean that many people who got employer provided health insurance would not only pay no taxes on their employer provided insurance, they would get extra money from the government. This would put them in a better position than those who had no employer provided insurance and were forced to depend on the tax credit alone.

Wonks Anonymous thought that the point was to remove the unfair tax advantage that people with employer provided insurance had.

Wonks Anonymous also thought that the plan was supposed to have no impact on the budget. Taxes on employer provided health insurance were supposed to pay for the tax credits. Wonks Anonymous imagined that this would be accomplished by simply leaving everyone with employer provided coverage in the same position that they were in before. Their tax credit would be applied to their tax increase and they would simply have another irritating form to fill out at tax time.

Instead it seems that we will be giving almost everyone tax credits. Wonks Anonymous and some other effete coastal types may wind up paying more taxes but everyone else gets free money. Excuse me but it just does not add up.

Or maybe John McCain simply does not understand even moderately complex policies and just says whatever he and his advisers think will give us a warm fuzzy feeling about voting for him.

So is this the sort of a person you want to represent the nation in a complex and interdependent world?