Health reform: Reid's lasting Senate fight
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
Two of the biggest were provided by Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Ben Nelson (D-NE).
At press time, however, it ap-peared that Reid, with the help of a healthy dose of direct persuasion applied by President Obama, might have converted the remaining Democratic and Independent holdouts. Obama and Democrat leaders said they had achieved a filibuster-proof 60-vote total for their reform bill and were looking forward to a historic vote on Christmas Eve Day.
Republican Senators, meanwhile, were threatening to try to delay a vote by any means at their disposal. Further battles also were likely this month before Obama could sign any changes into law. Any Senate reform bill would still have to be reconciled with the House's version of the bill, which differs dramatically on several major provisions.
