Pass. The. Damn. Bill.

AEI's Norman Ornstein and Brookings' Thomas Mann point out several parallels between now and the last time the Democrats controlled Congress and the White House:

To be sure, there were many reasons for Democrats’ massive losses in 1994, including scandals and angry gun owners. But the failure to fulfill their responsibility for governing contributed mightily to the debacle. That was the conclusion of pollsters from both parties in the aftermath of the November contests. Two weeks after the election, Republican pollster Bill McInturff found that “one of the most important predicates for Republican success was not having health care pass.” He noted that the collapse of the plan reinforced voters’ belief that Washington was in a dysfunctional state of gridlock.

Bernstein nods his head. The president says: "We're going to make this happen."