DON'T YOU FEEL BETTER ALREADY? - AT 8:08 A.M. ET:  The United States Senate, sometimes called the world's greatest deliberative body, has passed the health "reform" bill, 60-39, with not a single Republican voting for it.  The bill now must be reconciled with the House version.  From The New York Times:

If the bill becomes law, it would be a milestone in social policy, comparable to the creation of Social Security in 1935 and Medicare in 1965. But unlike those programs, the new initiative lacks bipartisan support. Only one Republican voted for the House bill last month, and no Republicans voted for the Senate version.

Senator Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, a moderate Republican who has spent years working with Democrats on health care and other issues, expressed despair.

“I was extremely disappointed,” Ms. Snowe said. After Senate Democrats locked up 60 votes within their caucus, she said, “there was zero opportunity to amend the bill or modify it, and Democrats had no incentive to reach across the aisle.”

David Broder, in the Washington Post, is pleased to see something passed, given the struggle, for decades, to introduce reforms into the health-care system.  But he notes, in sorrow:

But Lord, what a load of embarrassment accompanies this sense of satisfaction! What should have been a moment of proud accomplishment for the Senate, right up there with the passage of Social Security and the first civil rights bills, was instead a travesty of low-grade political theater -- angry rhetoric and backroom deals.

And...

The taint has rubbed off on the bill. This week's Quinnipiac University poll found a majority of Americans disapproving of the legislation by 53 to 36 percent and an overwhelming number -- 73 to 18 percent -- saying they do not believe it will, as promised, reduce future budget deficits. It now becomes President Obama's responsibility to strengthen the bill's cost-saving features and present them in a better way...

...It would help a lot if he reached out personally to those few Republicans who might still want to improve the bill rather than sink it. And it would help even more if he shamed the Democrats into rescinding some of the crasser bargains they made to buy votes along the way.

The country would welcome even a few signs that this legislation has bipartisan support.

Then we could applaud its final passage and take our thumbs from our noses.

COMMENT:  Broder is giving good advice.  Because the public doesn't like the bill doesn't mean that Americans are cheering the GOP for opposing it.  They want to see creative suggestions from the Republicans to improve the health-care system, even if those ideas are defeated by the majority.  There is still time for the GOP to prove that it isn't just the "party of no."

Remember, if this gets to the president's signature, the Dems will launch a major sales campaign to sell it to the American people, and it can be effective.  Opposition may weaken among the citizenry.  There will be a natural tendency for many Americans to want to "give the thing a chance."

Never assume we're out of the woods.  We're never out of the woods.

December 24,  2009