From the Wallstreet Journal

(Glora Borger, CNN Political Analyst) : Right. This isn't going to be subtle at all today. I think this is it. I was speaking with one senior White House adviser just before I came on the air, and he said, think of it this way. This is the last helicopter out of Saigon, OK?

(Al Velshi, CNN anchor) : Wow.

Borger: So, this means that, take it or leave it, this is your last chance to get on health care. . . .

Very strange quote, but somehow appropriate.

Its pretty clear that the Obama administration strategy is to characterize the Republicans as obdurate obstructionists and the administration as an exasperated but entirely reasonable negotiating partner.

Unfortunately, for Obama, the distortion field is pretty weak, and getting weaker all the time. While some conservatives are wringing their hands over the prospect of reconciliation, I'm finding it hard to get worked up about it. The last go around required a series of incredibly damaging compromises that weakened the administration and probably contributed to the election of Scott Brown. With Democrat leaders openly calling for political self-immolation, I find myself without the imagination to consider what they could possibly do to overcome much larger obstacles this time around.

Hence the appropriateness of metaphor, "last helicopter out of Saigon..."

Judging by Nancy Pelosi's current problem's with Bart Stupak and his gang of 12, the kamikaze option seems to be off the table.

Stupak -- namesake for the controversial Stupak Amendment to the House's original reform bill, which severely restricted funding for abortions -- isn't happy with the abortion language in the Senate version, which the House is being asked to pass. He's saying he'll vote against the legislation, and that 11 other House Democrats who were "yes" votes on that chamber's bill last fall will flip with him. Given the narrow margin of last year's vote, that could well prove a fatal blow to Democrats' efforts to get reform passed.

Abortion is the third rail of politics, and you vote for or against it based purely on which position gets you elected. Its appearance in the health-care debate suggests that House members are more concerned about getting reelected than Nancy would have us believe.