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Congressional correspondents Nancy Cordes on CBS and Jonathan Karl on ABC played the whips. Cordes detected "absolute certainty" from the Democratic leadership that a majority would be cobbled together by Sunday. Opposition from the Republican minority became unanimous when the lone GOP supporter for the House version decided to oppose the Senate bill. Karl just called it "as close as it gets," counting many more committed votes than Cordes, with only eight undecided. Karl dramatized the intensity of the lobbying of the undecided members by calling one on the telephone. His response was a busy signal.
Even though the action was on Capitol Hill, all three newscasts had their White House correspondents cover Obama's involvement. "This is the most important vote of his Presidency," CBS' Chip Reid announced. Obama's unidentified aides offered Reid their spin by bragging that "his arm-twisting has played a major role in turning the tide." NBC's Chuck Todd predicted that the weekend would contradict the White House mantra No Drama Obama. ABC's Jake Tapper told us that Obama has personally contacted 64 members of the Democratic caucus, some of them in person, in secret, at the White House; CBS' Reid put the number at "more than 60."
"It is a scrum" with the President "in person trying to get it over the line." While David Gregory, anchor of NBC's Meet the Press, used a sports metaphor, CBS' Sharyl Attkisson likened whipping for votes to playing her network's gameshow The Price is Right. What Democrats called persuasion, Republicans called that "special deal for that special someone." Wavering members won extra funding for hometown hospitals, or accelerated irrigation for hometown agribusiness, or new subsidy rules for homestate Big Pharma. Attkisson offered the caveat--"some things that look like a deal may be nothing more than coincidence"--before advising us not to be too surprised: "There is often arm-twisting and deal cutting on legislation but this is, arguably, the most attention those backroom bargains have ever gotten."
While almost all the coverage, understandably, concerned the nailbiting contest over votes, NBC's Todd did manage to mention some of the bill's substance. "The actual reforms, if passed, take months--years, even decades--to implement," he pointed out, citing tax hikes and mandates to purchase premiums. Yet "some benefits could kick in this year." Potential immediate goodies include guarantees of coverage for children with pre-existing conditions, a ban on dropping coverage when a patient becomes sick and coverage for young twentysomethings on their parents' policies.
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