I have to admit that yesterday I thought it would be practically over if we lost this cloture vote tonight. But seeing the long process still ahead, there could be as many as three more cloture votes before Obama could sign ObamaCare into law. Two of those would come even after the Senate passed a bill.
The Democrats would have to be able to hold all 60 of their votes to pass any or all of those cloture votes. With Lieberman already saying he will vote against any bill that increases the debt or has a Public Option, that won’t be easy for them. The abortion division could also be a problem depending on what is in the final bill.
My post duplicated a lot of what you said; I didn’t read yours before commenting.
I just want to add, that, in the House vote, Nancy Pelosi was able to pick and choose which Democrats were allowed to vote “no” to give them political cover as they run for re-election. Since they have a big majority in the House, with no filibuster type rules, she could afford to lose a number of Democrats and still pass the bill. But in the Senate, the Republicans can force ALL Democrats to stand up and vote for this thing in roll call votes.