Fear Strikes Out  —  The day before Sunday's health care vote, President Obama gave an unscripted talk to House Democrats.  Near the end, he spoke about why his party should pass reform: “Every once in a while a moment comes where you have a chance to vindicate all those best hopes …

Health Care Reform's Winners and Losers  —  It doesn't take a rocket scientist—or even an alleged expert such as this reporter —to see that the big political winner in tonight's House vote is the president of the United States.  After a year and a half of fitful but increasingly focused effort …

News Analysis: Obama's Health Care Victory Carries a Cost  —  WASHINGTON — The House's passage of health care legislation late Sunday night assures that whatever the ultimate cost, President Obama will go down in history as one of the handful of presidents who found a way to reshape the nation's social welfare system.

Waterloo  —  Conservatives and Republicans today suffered their most crushing legislative defeat since the 1960s.  —  It's hard to exaggerate the magnitude of the disaster.  Conservatives may cheer themselves that they'll compensate for today's expected vote with a big win in the November 2010 elections.

McCain: Don't expect GOP cooperation on legislation for the rest of this year  —  Democrats shouldn't expect much cooperation from Republicans the rest of this year, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) warned Monday.  —  McCain and another Republican senator decried the effect health reform legislation …

Neugebauer says he called out ‘baby-killer’ as Stupak spoke on House floor  —  Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Tex.) acknowledged Monday that he yelled out “baby killer” as Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) urged his fellow Democrats to vote down a Republican amendment on abortion services in the health-care legislation.

Romney: ‘Unconscionable abuse of power’  —  Extremely strong language from Mitt Romney, who the administration and his Republican rivals love to note gets some credit for the shape of the health care plan.  —  Now, Romney is positioning himself as a leader of the charge to repeal it:

Obama's Share Determined Dems' Votes on ObamaCare  —  What was the single biggest determinant of whether a Democrat voted yea or nay on the health care bill yesterday?  Actually, it isn't too hard to figure out:  —  This reflects the breakdown in the roll call based on the percentage …

Happy Dependence Day!  — By: Mark Steyn  —  Well, it seems to be in the bag now.  I try to be a sunny the-glass-is-one-sixteenth-full kinda guy, but it's hard to overestimate the magnitude of what the Democrats have accomplished.  Whatever is in the bill is an intermediate stage …

Conservative Blogger Calls For Obama's Assassination On Twitter (Updated)  —  Earlier today, self-described conservative blogger Solomon “Solly” Forell posted a tweet that included a call for assassination, as well as this line: “We'll surely get over a bullet 2 Barack Obama's head!”  It gets worse:

Attorneys general in 12 states poised to challenge healthcare bill  —  As soon as President Obama signs the healthcare bill into law, the attorneys general say they will challenge its constitutionality.  The mandate to buy insurance is at the center of the controversy.

Silver Linings  —  With Stupak's collapse, passage of the Democrats' government medicine bill is assured.  This is a dark day in American history; one of the darkest.  But there are many reasons for optimism.  Here are a few:  —  * The health care battle is just beginning.

How To Say It?  —  Well, here goes.  I really resent the term, but I use it because it's recognized and accepted.  —  I'm gay.  —  From some seventy years of personal experience, I can tell you that there's not much “gay” about being homosexual.  For the first twenty years of my life …

Obama Pays More Than Buffett as U.S. Risks AAA Rating  —  The bond market is saying that it's safer to lend to Warren Buffett than Barack Obama.  —  Two-year notes sold by the billionaire's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in February yield 3.5 basis points less than Treasuries of similar maturity, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Florida Senate: Rubio 45%, Meek 25%, Crist 22%  —  Former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio for now runs well ahead in a three-way race for the U.S. Senate in Florida, should Governor Charlie Crist decide to run as an independent.  —  The first Rasmussen Repots telephone survey …

The five most promising cost controls in the health-care bill  —  It's hard to overstate how important the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) — which makes the official judgments on how much bills cost and save — is in Washington.  But the rest of the country doesn't know what the CBO is, and it doesn't care.

Famous Last Words  —  Fred Barnes, January 20: … As someone who makes a lot of bad predictions, I'm going to offer everyone advice that you want to try to make sure your predictions aren't totally categorical.  ObamaCare looks dead, for example.  Heck, if you're feeling super-confident, just go ahead and say ObamaCare is dead.

20 Ways ObamaCare Will Take Away Our Freedoms  —  With House Democrats poised to pass the Senate health care bill with some reconciliation changes later today, it is worthwhile to take a comprehensive look at the freedoms we will lose.  —  Of course, the overhaul is supposed to provide us with security.