If you were Ben Nelson, wouldn't you be loudly signaling that you're “fully prepared" to vote against health reform? A historic transformation of a $2 trillion industry and you are the hinge vote that might decide passage. A simple public servant like, say, Carl Levin, just votes for the package because it's a good thing to do and it won't pass the Senate without a lot of simple "yes" votes. But if you're lucky enough to be one of the complicated "yes" vote -- and there can only be a couple of those -- you get to decide what the final bill looks like. You get to decide the shape of American health care. And you're not even on the Finance Committee! It's a helluva gig, if you can get it.
