Senate leaders announced what they describe as "the most significant overhaul of the nation's health care system in more than a generation". According to Majority Leader, Harry Reid, under this plan every uninsured American who becomes ill will now receive a "get well" card.
President Obama seemed encouraged by the progress having just left Denmark with a climate change agreement in hand. According to the White House, after intense negotiations, the Chinese finally agreed to "look into the whole greenhouse gas emissions thing". In a personal message Chinese President Hu told President Obama that they should "stay in touch" and "definitely try to do lunch" next time Obama was in town. He added - "a friend of mine owns this totally awesome Dim Sum place in Beijing".
An amendment passed exclusively for Senator Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, mandated that any cards sent to pregnant women in the first trimester of pregnancy must be pre-screened by the woman's congressman.
For weeks in floor speeches and news conferences Republicans have warned ominously that "the get well card" compromise will be a disaster and cause a drop in the number of "good luck in your retirement" cards that seniors currently receive causing many of them to die - at some point.
Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, a leading opponent of the measure, said "they have gone too far this time". He added that Republicans would be forcing a series of procedural show downs to stop, what he called "the democrat death card to granny law."
Senator Olympia Snowe, a Maine Republican, said she would oppose the measure because she needed a few more years to think about it. She expressed concern that people no longer seemed to care about every word out of her mouth.
Senator Lieberman's final support was delayed because of what he described as certain deeply felt convictions. The Senator refused to say what those convictions were until speaking with insurance industry lobbyists whose flights from Hartford has been delayed by the snow storm.
On Friday a weary Senator Harry Reid emerged from a caucus meeting to hail what he referred to as "this Hallmark, . . . I mean .. landmark legislation".
