News Bits and Quick Hits

White House aides have already begun to back off a previous commitment to an August deadline for a healthcare vote in the Senate, the President had wanted a vote before the August recess. The timetable was ambitious, considering the scale and scope of the legislation in question, the President is now setting a more realistic goal, “Lets pass reform by the end of this year.” Well, if the White House is trying to win over Nelson and his group of five other Senators currently on the fence concerning healthcare, then the President has already put things into motion. This shows that the President is actively trying to win over those Senators by giving them more time, and following their own proposed timetable (Remember, in the letter Nelson drafted, he said “we are firmly committed to enactment of comprehensive reform this year.”

It also looks like the White House has finally found a bad guy in all of this. And no, it’s not Bill Kristol (though it could have been), instead, its South Carolina Republican, Senator Jim DeMint. DeMint’s “Waterloo” comments could potentially be a turning point in the healthcare debate because, as Chuck Todd points out, the President does better on any issue when he has someone to run against. What did the President say about DeMint’s comments? “Think about that. This isn’t about me. This isn’t about politics. This is about a health-care system that is breaking America’s families.” The President is expected to use that quote to “rally the troops” so to speak, refocusing his own party to battle GOP attacks and eliminate infighting.

Now for some quick news bits on healthcare and others:

If you are ready for a lot of numbers, you should read this piece by Timothy Noah from Slate, where he makes a case for affordable healthcare.

Howard Fineman thinks not. But then again, what else is new? The Newsweek politics reporter today talks about the President’s ability surf political waves and how he may be wiping out this time because of ill-conceived timing.

Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank has apparently caught Michael Steele’s puppeteer, Alex Castellanos. But as with all political strategists, they do not prepare you well for policy positions. When asked a question about the legislation, Steele replies “I don’t do policy.”

Brad Delong makes a convincing argument for the recession being over, the stimulus being the prime reason why it wasn’t worse. Now all he asks is “when do the jobs return?”