An embarassment to bloggers everywhere

Yep, that's me. It's been almost a month since my past entry, which is so sad. I'm going to blame it on my work load, which has become out of control as S-chip has spiraled out of control (perhaps the increase in news is actually MORE reason to blog, but still) and has left completely exhausted and unable to write another sentence about anything related to health care. Today, though, I am feeling energetic. And plus, you may have heard that just two hours ago, the House failed to override President Bush's veto.

Surprise, surprise, I know. Doesn't mean I wasn't rooting for some rogue Republicans to heroically stand up when voting and say, "I vote for children!" ... alas, no luck there.

So what's next? Dems have a couple of options when it comes down to it.

Change the bill slightly, so it becomes more difficult for Republicans to lie to the American people about why they should hate the bill (but can't ... a recent CBS poll found that even 70% of Republicans wanted to reauthorize S-chip). If Dems put in language that prohibits states from enrolling children in families with annual incomes of over 300% of the federal poverty level -- which the vetoed bill does in essence anyway -- then Republicans will be unable to break out their "Familes earning $83,000 a year will be on the public dole!" line.

The small revisions will have the effect of either a) persuading enough Republicans to switch their vote and vote to override, or b) make Republicans look sooooo bad that they won't be able to get reelected. It's 10 million children or the president, as Rahm Emanuel, Pelosi and Reid are so fond of saying. Who are they going to choose?

Another alternative: actually work with the president and Republicans to craft a different bill. I don't personally think this will ever happen. There's a pretty big differences between $5 billion and $35 billion and they'll never be able to bridge that gap. I don't think the president seriously thinks they'll be able to compromise either. In my head, I envision Bush as a whiny little child throwing a tantrum over S-chip. He was invited to the party, but thought no one was going ... now that it turned out to be a big deal, he wants in -- and he'll cry, and cajole and veto until he gets his way.

Here's some preliminary coverage from the New York Times and CNN.