Boccieri is a ‘yes’  —  An almost somber Rep. John Boccieri (D-Ohio) said Friday that he will switch his vote to ‘yes’ on the health care bill.  —  Boccieri is in the swing district of swing districts in the swing state of swing states.  His vote was a big get for the Democratic leadership …

New Health Care Whip Count: 193 Yes, 208 No (with Leaners: 203-211); Update: 194 Yes  —  Update: John Boccieri has just confirmed that he will vote for this bill-that brings the Yes column to 194.  —  Here's the last one.  We're going to start to see this firm up, and we can focus attention on the last holdouts.

Haaretz Poll: Most Israelis see Obama as fair and friendly  —  U.S. President Barack Obama's popularity may be declining in American public opinion, but a sweeping majority of Israelis think his treatment of this country is friendly and fair, according to a Haaretz-Dialog poll conducted this week.

The Misinformed Tea Party Movement  —  For an antitax group, they don't know much about taxes.  —  On March 16 the Tea Party crowd showed up for yet another demonstration on Capitol Hill in Washington.  Curious about the factual knowledge these people have regarding the issues they are protesting …

Now for the Slaughter  —  On the road to Demon Pass, our leader encounters a Baier.  —  Excuse me, but it is embarrassing—really, embarrassing to our country—that the president of the United States has again put off a state visit to Australia and Indonesia because he's having trouble passing …

Ensign's refusal to resign harms many in his circle  —  It's no longer a question of “if” but of “when” between now and January 2013 that John Ensign's short, previously happy, suddenly unhappy life as a senator will end.  —  One week after I told you about Ensign's breathtakingly obtuse statement through …

Deal Near on Gitmo, Detainee Trials  —  The White House is nearing a deal with a bipartisan group of senators to close the Guantanamo Bay prison and pave the way for more detainees to be tried before military commissions, a move that would reverse a signature Obama administration security policy.

After a Bitter Campaign, Forging an Alliance  —  WASHINGTON — On a snowy Thursday shortly before her weekly meeting with President Obama last month, Hillary Rodham Clinton got a distressing phone call: her husband, Bill Clinton, was in a hospital with chest pains and needed an urgent heart procedure.

CBO: Obamacare Would Cost Over $2 Trillion  —  The CBO's most recent analysis is out, and it's not likely to convince wavering House Democrats to jump to the Obamacare side of the fence.  Even the Democrats are granting that the latest version of their proposed health care overhaul would cost $69 billion more than the previous version.

Sean Hannity's Freedom CONcert Scam: Almost None of Charity's $ Went to Injured Troops, Kids of Fallen Troops; G5s for Vannity?  —  For the last several years, Sean Hannity and the Freedom Alliance “charity” have conducted “Freedom Concerts” across America.  They've told you that they are raising money …

State of the health care debate: Talk radio attacks an 11-year old  —  WASHINGTON — Conservative talk show hosts and columnists have ridiculed an 11-year-old Washington state boy's account of his mother's death as a “sob story” exploited by the White House and congressional Democrats like a …

Discrediting the legislative process itself  —  So far in the health-care debate, Republicans have attacked the legitimacy of private negotiations, parochial dealmaking, the budget reconciliation process, self-executing rules, the Congressional Budget Office's analyses, and even the constitutionality of the legislation.

SEIU To Yank Support For Arcuri, Will Search For Challenger  —  It appears SEIU is dead serious about this business about yanking support for House Dems who vote No on the health bill.  —  The SEIU bluntly informed Dem Rep Michael Arcuri of New York yesterday that it's pulling support …

In Health Vote, Democrats Weigh Success vs. Survival  —  WASHINGTON — In the homestretch of the health care debate, one obvious question being asked across the capital is whether Speaker Nancy Pelosi will find 216 votes to pass the bill.  For a group of particularly jittery Democrats …

Joint Statement by the Quartet  —  Washington, DC  —  The Quartet - U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell, and High Representative for Foreign Affairs …

Blair's fight to keep his oil cash secret: Former PM's deals are revealed as his earnings since 2007 reach £20million  —  Tony Blair waged an extraordinary two-year battle to keep secret a lucrative deal with a multinational oil giant which has extensive interests in Iraq.

Romney leads tight Republican race  —  Our first national look at who Republicans would prefer as their 2012 Presidential nominee confirms the wide open nature of the field.  The leading candidates are all within the margin of error of each other, with Mitt Romney leading at 28% followed by Mike Huckabee at 24% and Sarah Palin at 23%.

The Undecideds  —  While the varying whip counts remain inexact and the outcome unknown, one thing is certain as the health care reform drama hurtles toward its conclusion: The last two dozen or so votes for the bill will come at considerable cost to the undecided House members who cast them.