Merry Christmas Thought of Night...

Christmas is upon us, and we should all be looking around us to recognize how much we have to be thankful for. Expanding on this theme, and thinking about the running argument I've made over the last few weeks since liberals started attacking the president, got me wondering: what if the Democrats didn't have 60 votes? What would the legislation look like then in the Senate? What could have Obama got through the Senate? Remember, his dear friend Olympia Snowe voted yesterday to declare the healthcare bill unconstitutional because of the mandate. I think she has a point as the mandate should probably come from the states, but even if Obama only needed 1 Republican vote, how much different would the Senate bill look? My point in all of this is just be thankful for what Obama did get passed in the awful environment set up by Republicans, as but for a few hundred votes in Minnesota, a surprise switch in Pennsylvania, and Joe Lieberman staying in the caucus to keep his chairmanships, there might not be any healthcare bill at all, or at least one that is much farther right and watered down than what was produced. Save for a few flukes of history, the Democrats in the Senate would be in a much different position than they are now. I think this is further evidence, which should scare the hell out of Republicans, that Obama isn't an ideologue, but a pragmatist. Pragmatists move the ball down the field, produce real accomplishments, and this is the real threat to a Republican comeback. But apparently this is the only site left selling hope.

UPDATE: She must be a reader of this blog. Peggy Noonan wonders where Obama's defenders are, and drops that the Obamas don't let anyone stay in the Lincoln bedroom any longer.