As Rachel Maddow points out, it's hard to understand why House Democratic leaders would scrap a fall vote on S-CHIP, the popular children's health insurance program that couldn't quite garner enough votes to override George Bush's heartless veto. Democratic challengers are making the most of their GOP rubber-stamp incumbents' support of Bush's veto all across America.

So why not have another SCHIP vote this fall? This is short-attention-span-America, after all. Surely in between the long debates the GOP will get on "drill-here-drill-now" there would be time for a few quick steps on SCHIP: Gavel the House and Senate into session to pass the bill and send it to Bush for another veto. Schedule a veto override vote in both Houses of Congress. Make more ads when the veto override fails. Maybe even make an ad that excoriates the GOP standard bearer for voting against kids, or (much more likely) skipping the vote completely!

Or has Rahm Emanuel counted the votes? Is he worried that GOP 'critters who voted to sustain the President's veto last time might not do so in the heat of the fall campaign? Is he worried that a few Democratic challengers might lose a talking point against a rubber stamp GOP who turns on the President? Is he sacrificing needy children's health insurance because he'd rather campaign on the GOP's unwillingness to override the veto than see SCHIP actually pass?

And how many kids will go without health insurance this winter because of this craven political calculus?

{YouTube from Rachel Maddow's inaugural show courtesy of hidnusr}