Reid to go a'reconciliation vote huntin' next week.

More on Thursday's White House meeting

After President Obama and congressional Democratic leaders met at the White House yesterday, House Speaker Pelosi and House Majority Leader Hoyer played down reform, saying that most of the discussion revolved around jobs.

But a Democratic source familiar with the meeting said there was quite a bit of discussion about reform, largely running over well-worn ground. Specifically, Democratic leaders and the president discussed whether Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid can wrangle 51 votes for a reconciliation bill -- a decision he hopes to make next week. Pelosi expressed frustration with the pace of progress and the president's decision not to weigh in publicly on a way forward, according to the source.

Perhaps more interesting was the discussion about whether Dems should try to pass reform using reconciliation. There is a concern that the maneuver will be viewed by the public as an attempt to change the rules mid-game, which could hurt Democrats politically, the source said. And reconciliation would require the same kind of dealmaking that Democrats used to pass the Senate bill -- deals like the so-called Cornhusker Kickback that further soured the public on reform. It's a concern that moderate Democrats have expressed for weeks, especially as many Americans view the Massachusetts election as a repudiation of health reform.

All those factors line up in the Republicans' favor, which means the public is sure to hear all of them repeatedly should Reid take a reconciliation bill to the floor.

http://www.politico.com/livepulse/0210/More_on_Thursdays_White_House_meeting.html