The House came through for President Obama in his drive for health care reform, but that may be the last piece of good news on the subject that the president has for quite a while.
Even though the vote on the House bill, H.R. 3962, was a squeaker, passing only by a 220-215 tally, it was still a historic moment. Yet, that is hardly the kind of momentum necessaryto spur anykind of fast action in the Senate that the president wants.
It was a nail-biter in the House right until the vote on Saturday evening, Nov. 7, with a flurry of compromises being made during the day, particularly on the issue of coverage for abortion. In the end, the Democrats managed to siphon off one Republican vote, a representative from Louisiana. Thirty-nine Democrats voted against it.
While there was a lot of high-fiving and cheering among the House Democratic leadership, particularly among those members who have been carrying the torch for universal health coverage for years if not decades, the White House is starkly aware that this fight is nowhere near over.
