Delay Of Game

President Obama has now postponed his Oceania trip from March 18 to March 21 in order to "cross the finish line" on health care reform.

Obama will leave for his trip to Indonesia and Australia on March 21 instead of March 18, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs announced Friday. The president previously expressed a willingness to delay the trip to work on health care, according to a senior administration official.

Obama spent much of the past week pitching his health care plan to nervous congressional Democrats behind closed doors. He's also tried to boost public support for the plan, publicly calling for a final up-or-down vote in Congress while hammering the unpopular health insurance industry during visits to Pennsylvania and Missouri.

He's set to deliver another health care address Monday in Ohio.

The entire House Democratic caucus spent Friday morning reviewing the status of the nearly $1 trillion reform package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said she was still waiting for a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on the cost of changes to the Senate bill being negotiated by House and Senate leaders.

"I would hope that we [get the report] today," she told reporters on Capitol Hill. She also indicated the House would wait at least one week after the CBO report's release before proceeding to a vote in the full chamber.
Pelosi has promised that the House will wait at least one week after the CBO report's release before proceeding to a vote in the full chamber.

So, that would put a vote at next Friday, March 19th at the earliest, if the CBO delivers the report today.  The rubber meets the road next week for sure, and it may be that the final fate of this reform bill is decided one way or another by this time next week.

The problem is, Pelosi is still bleeding no votes, the latest being Rep. Luis Gutierrez who is objecting on lack of undocumented workers being allowed to use health care exchanges.

I'm beginning to think this will come down to the wire.