Still Short on Votes, He Works the Phones

With the clock ticking down to a dramatic Sunday vote on healthcare reform, congressional Democrats are beginning to line up to support President Obama — but the battle's ultimate outcome remains very much in doubt.

"The time for reform is now," President Obama told an enthusiastic crowd shortly before noon Friday at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. "We have waited long enough… In two days, a century-long struggle will culminate in a historic vote."

Hundreds of bullhorn-wielding, sign-waving tea party activists rallied outside the venue, as the president confessed to the college audience inside that the legislative process on healthcare reform had been "messy," "frustrating," and "ugly." But he also compared his reform initiatives to historic legislative fights to enact Social Security and civil rights legislation.

Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, followed Obama's remarks with a brief response carried by some cable news channels. "There's not one American who thinks we're going to save money on this," Boehner said. "The American people do not want any part of this."

Boehner also warned that, if Democrats vote to force the bill through Congress, the electorate will hold them accountable in the November midterm elections.

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Democrat's hopes of passing healthcare received a major boost Friday morning, with news that two previously undecided members, Rep. Eliot L. Engel, D-N.Y., and John Boccieri, D-Ohio, would vote for the healthcare reforms.