One interesting -- and, to me, unexpected -- aspect of the vote last night is that the Democrats pulled in 219 votes for the Senate bill. That means three Democratic members who could have voted no decided to support it. Politico's headline, "Some Dems walk plank with 'yes' Vote," seems incorrect. They weren't forced onto that plank. Moreover, the party is rejected the idea that they have had to endorse some permanently unpopular plan. They think they can win with this issue.
Now, in the most easily-measurable sense, they certainly won't win. Democrats are going to lose a lot of seats this November, and course this will be taken as a referendum on health care. But Democrats apparently believe their best chance to minimize losses is to act proud of what they did, rather than to act apologetic. I think they're right.