BULLETIN AT 9:53 A.M. ET:  Major House Dem claims victory on health vote.  From CNN:

Washington (CNN) -- Democrats have the 216 votes needed to pass health care reform legislation in the House on Sunday, the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus told CNN.

"This is a historic day and we are happy warriors," Rep. John Larson, D- Connecticut, told CNN's "State of the Union." He added, "We've got the votes."

But the chief deputy whip in the House, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida, cautioned, "We don't have a hard 216 right now." Schultz made the statement to "Fox News Sunday" just as Larson was speaking to CNN.

Wasserman Schultz added, "I firmly believe we will have 216."

"This fight is not lost, yet," said House Minority Leader John Boehner on NBC's "Meet the Press."

COMMENT:  This could be Dem hype, or it could be real.  But what a spectacle – trying to get the bare minimum to pass a bill of this magnitude.  What leadership, what vision.  Why, we're in the presence of another Lincoln.  Or maybe it's a Mercury.  Or an Edsel.

March 21, 2010