AH CHOO – AT 7:08 P.M. ET:  We're following the health-care drama as closely as possible.  Remember that President Obama, whose deadlines have as much impact as those of the old League of Nations, has given Congress until a week from today to pass health care.  Or else.  Or else what?  Who knows.

Here are some late bulletins:  Republican sources say that the Senate parliamentarian will rule that the House must pass the full Senate version of the health-care bill first – the one already passed by the Senate – and that it must be signed by the president before any reconciliation process can take place.

If that's true, it may all be over.  Many members of the House hate the Senate version, and won't vote for it.  The president goes on a foreign trip late next week, which means he won't be around to lobby members directly.  Without his pressure, it's hard to see anything getting done.

The March 18th "deadline" (next Thursday) is slipping away.  It's being taken as seriously as Iran takes our nuclear deadlines.  If the date slips, members must go home and face their constituents, the people for whom they presumably work.  This the White House does not want.

It's being widely reported that the Democratic congressional leadership has lost patience with the House pro-life caucus and will try to ram a bill through without making any changes in the Senate's abortion language, which the pro-life community believes is far too lax.  This is a dangerous game.  In effect, Nancy Pelosi will dare the pro-lifers to vote against the bill.  They just might.

March 11, 2010