So let me get this straight: Obama wants the Senate to take the drastic measure of ramming a sidecar through reconciliation, fanning a colossal GOP hissy firestorm about the cheaty system-gaming Democrat Party thwarting the will of the American people who gave the obstructionists their 41-seat supermajority, all so that he can… fiddle around the edges and increase the individual mandate penalty?

For the first time in the health care debate in a couple months, the major players seem to be reading from the same script. The President made his pitch for health care reform before the big summit this week. Democrats, including members of the leadership, continue to sign on to using reconciliation to finish off the bill. And Harry Reid provided a timeline.