More on Bayh's Role in Rallying Dems on Health Care

Here's a little more information on the role Sen. Evan Bayh apparently played in rallying the Democratic troops during last Tuesday's caucus meeting:

"Democrats said the turning point came during a Tuesday afternoon meeting at the White House. President Barack Obama had called the meeting after Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.) threatened to torpedo the health care bill over its expansion of Medicare. ... But then Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) — a moderate and an initial holdout on the health care measure — gave what many described as a rousing speech, arguing that Democrats could not afford to let the reform effort collapse in the face of Republican attacks. One Senate Democratic aide said Bayh made clear that 'if we don’t [pass a bill] the only ones who win are Republicans, and [Bayh] doesn’t want to see that happen.' Bayh’s speech seemed to crystallize the situation for Democrats and helped them refocus their energy away from intraparty disputes and onto the GOP and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)."

The above appears in Kaiser Health News, but is quoted from Roll Call, which accessible only to subscribers. However, the KHN page cites several interesting sources on how this matter was resolved.