The Health Care Vote

There are only two things I can say about the health care bill vote in the house yesterday. First, the partisan split is interesting. 39 democrats voted against it while only one member of the GOP voted for the bill. The narrow split (220-215) suggests that the $1.1 trillion cost and the public option are in deep trouble in the Senate. But second, as you count the vote in the Senate the waivering democrats will be given little comfort. That suggests to me that either the senate bill will be significantly modified or it may forestall passage of a final bill.

It is clear that the President is deeply committed to the approach in the House bill. It is also clear that the American people are deeply suspect of that approach. Some democratic leaders were proclaiming that this is akin to Medicare and Social Security - and with the current financial state of both those programs that may not be a positive connection.