It can be very difficult to discern genuine momentum in politics. You have so many cross currents and variables, plus there’s often concerted efforts from various sides to create the misimpressions of momentum. So we’ve been careful this week in reporting on the push to pass health care reform. We’ve tried to try to limit ourselves to reporting on what we can actually document and observe, rather than characterizing it more broadly or predicting the outcome.

That being said, there’s been a decided shift in favor of reform over the course of the day today, especially late this afternoon. Most of the lawmakers who announced their decisions earlier this week had gone in the direction they were expected to go in. Today, however, some of the tougher eggs cracked, and there was at least one big surprise. Brian Beutler brings us up to speed on the day’s late developments.

David Kurtz

David Kurtz is Managing Editor and Washington Bureau Chief of Talking Points Memo where he oversees the news operations of TPM and its sister sites.