Naturally, the Video Doctor will need three more net for cloture, and

To lure Democratic senators from Washington state and Arkansas, Thomas included a lucrative tax break for the timber industry, pushing the total cost of the bill to nearly $280 billion.

That's Ways and Means chairman Bill Thomas, of course.

To be fair, that's putting it a tad misleadingly. Later, it clarifies:

Knowing how tight the vote would be, Thomas included a narrowly tailored measure, sought by Washington state's two Democratic senators, to offer strapped timber companies a two-year tax break worth $940 million.

Spokesmen for the senators, Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, said the legislation is still being studied.

Nota bene:

sought by Washington state's two Democratic senators

These shameless hussies hawking their forks for a measly billion to bring comfort to those afficted with estates worth more than $25 million!

(Cantwell is up this year, Murray not until 2010.)

An education in itself to contrast this exercise in Realpolitik with the pie in the sky in that Obama speech that Matt used for his rant - and the rant itself...