Actually, I believe this is a *good* sign. It probably sounds weird, but let me explain why I feel that way.

One point that often gets lost in this discussion is that Senate Democrats only need 60 votes to break the filibuster on any HCR bill. The final vote can be a simple majority. I've always thought it would be easier to get our 60 together for cloture than for the final up-or-down. This also allows people like Blanche Lincoln the political cover needed to vote "nay" on the final bill. Also, Ben Nelson has told Nebraskans that he will not vote "yea" on a bill with no Republican votes, so you'd think he's a goner, too.

However, the vote on Schumer's amendment says different, which is even better. The final margin was better than the 15-8 loss on Rockefeller's. Tom Carper and Nelson (!) were the switches. This is very promising, in my opinion. It shows that the moderate D's can come around - and Schumer, Rockefeller, et al., are even more energized to get them on board with smaller modifications to Schumer's proposal. If he can attract a milquetoast like Nelson, that's HUGE in the Senate voting calculus.

Ultimately, though, the real question on the public option lies with Obama - as it always has. If the President says he wants it, Harry & Co. will make it happen.

It is worth noting that I can't find any negative statements from Obama about the public option. The closest, I believe, was him saying several times that the public option was one way to lower HC costs for citizens. He's also said several times that single payer would make the most sense if we were starting from scratch. The obvious middle ground between "wealth care" and single payer is a strong public option, which probably appeals to him a great deal.

Obama, of course, would probably rather have frozen chocolate-covered haggis fed to him intravenously than be the final arbiter on this one. But in the end, anyone watching this particular debate closely knows that Obama's is the one voice that would make the moderates remove the fencepost from their collective butt.

One other consideration. When this (finally) goes to conference, half of the conference will be from the House. Since all of the House bills include a strong public option, it's not difficult to see that the public option will have a majority of conference participants supporting it.

Bottom line: I'm actually encouraged by today's votes. Neither of today's amendments were going to pass - but the ultimate keys are POTUS and the moderate Senate Dems. I think we're closer now to shaking those moderates loose.