WASHINGTON INSIGHT

CHEERING ON H.C.U.: The idea flashed before Sen. Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) as he jogged, and now it’s the talk of Democratic congressional leaders and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton: a “Health Care University” for members of Congress and staff. There would be classes (on Capitol Hill) and professors (from the White House and academia), all to explain the unbearably complex health care issue and the reform plan expected from President Clinton this fall. . . . “We’re so incredibly busy, we’ve got to have a way to get a thorough understanding of this,” Daschle said. He envisions a series of bipartisan classes, closed to the public because “senators and congressmen want to be able to ask dumb questions without being held up to contempt.” . . . Both the First Lady and House Majority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) back the idea. “The final exam,” Daschle quipped, “will be on votes to pass health care reform.”