In their Printed newspaper today, in Cape Cod (Kennedy family's homestead township), this headline and article is DIRECTLY ON TOP of another article titled "Obama makes case for Coakley in Boston" - I will try to find that article and post a link right below.

CAPE COD TIMES

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Senate race sets House scrambling

BOSTON — A panicky White House and Democratic allies scrambled yesterday for a plan to salvage their hard-fought health care package in case Republican Scott Brown wins tomorrow's Senate race in Massachusetts, which would enable the GOP to block further Senate action.

The likeliest scenario would require persuading House Democrats to accept a bill the Senate passed last month, despite their objections to several parts.

Aides worked frantically yesterday amid fears that Brown will defeat Democrat Martha Coakley in the special election to succeed the late Edward M. Kennedy in the Senate.

A Brown win would give the GOP 41 Senate votes, enough to filibuster and block final passage of the House-Senate compromise on health care now being crafted.

House Democrats, especially liberals, viewed those compromises as vital because they view the Senate-passed version as doing too little to help working families.

Under the Senate bill, 94 percent of Americans would be covered, compared with 96 percent in the House version. The House plan would increase taxes on millionaires while the Senate plan would tax so-called Cadillac, high-cost health insurance plans enjoyed by many corporate executives as well as some union members.

The House passed its own version last year, and members assumed it would be reconciled with the Senate bill and then sent back to both chambers for final approval by the narrowest of margins.

A GOP win in Massachusetts tomorrow would likely kill that plan, because Republicans could block Senate action on the reconciled bill.

The newly discussed fallback would require House Democrats to swallow hard and approve the Senate-passed bill without changes. President Barack Obama could sign it into law without another Senate vote needed.

House leaders presumably would urge the Senate to make some changes later under a complex plan requiring only a simple majority, but it's unclear whether that could happen.

The plan is highly problematic. House liberals already are bristling over changes the Senate forced upon them earlier, and some may conclude that no bill is better than the Senate bill. Some moderate Democrats may abandon the health bill altogether if they see a Republican win Kennedy's seat in strongly Democratic Massachusetts.

Republican activists openly scoffed at the notion of Democrats passing the highly contentious health package if there is a GOP takeover of Kennedy's Senate seat.

But some Democrats said failure to pass a health bill will cripple their ability to tell voters this November that they accomplished anything with their control of the House, Senate and White House.

If Coakley wins, final passage of a House-Senate compromise is not guaranteed but seems likely.

Top Obama aides furiously weighed options if Coakley loses. They include:

- Act before Brown is sworn in. Congressional and White House negotiators could try to reconcile the House and Senate bills quickly and pass them before Brown takes office. A firestorm of criticism would follow, but some Democrats say it would be better than having no bill.

- Seek a Republican to cast the crucial 60th Senate vote. Some Democrats hope Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, might do this, but others seriously doubt it.

- Start over and pass a new, scaled-back health bill using a complicated process that requires a simple majority of 51 Senate votes. Several Senate aides said this was unlikely.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly ruled out a House vote on the Senate's version; privately, officials have raised concerns about asking the rank and file to vote on legislation containing provisions that might prove problematic in the midterm elections.

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Obama makes case for Coakley in Boston

BOSTON — His agenda at risk, President Barack Obama fought yesterday to save a struggling Democratic U.S. Senate candidate and the critical 60th vote needed for his health care plan.

"Understand what's at stake here Massachusetts. It's whether we're going forward or going backwards," Obama said during a rally for Martha Coakley as he tried to energize his dispirited base in this Democratic stronghold. "If you were fired up in the last election, I need you more fired up in this election."

The president made a direct appeal to independents who are trending away from the Democratic candidate and sought to court voters angry over Wall Street abuses. He assailed GOP candidate Scott Brown, who has downplayed his party affiliation during the campaign, as just another typical Republican who sides with special interests.

"Martha's opponent already is walking in lockstep with Washington Republicans," Obama said, criticizing Brown for opposing the president's proposed tax on banks that received federal bailout money. "She's got your back, her opponent's got Wall Street's back. Bankers don't need another vote in the United States Senate. They've got plenty. Where's yours?"

The unexpectedly tight race for the seat held so long by Edward M. Kennedy, in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 3-to-1, reflects a nasty antiestablishment environment that threatens Obama's support in Congress now and heading into this fall's elections.

Brown, a little-known state senator, has tapped into voter anger and anxiety over budget-busting spending, expanded government and high unemployment under Obama to pull even with Coakley, the state's attorney general.

"It's us against the machine," Brown said in Worcester, alongside former Boston College football star Doug Flutie and former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling. "The establishment is afraid of losing their Senate seat. You can all remind them that this is not their seat, it is yours."

No matter who wins, the shockingly close contest in one of the country's most Democratic states is likely to put a lasting scare in Democrats, raise questions about Obama's political strength and test his party's resolve about his agenda, particularly on the issue of health care reform.

If elected, Brown says he would vote against Obama's health care bill, robbing Democrats of the 60-vote majority needed to prevent Republicans from blocking the reform legislation and other parts of Obama's agenda.

"A lot of these measures are going to rest on one vote in the United States Senate," Obama said.

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