WILSON: ”The session showed that there are differences that can’t be bridged. But in purely political terms, neither the President not the Democrats can afford to be seen to have been defeated and enter the midterm campaign with nothing to show on this signature issue.”

KRINER: “The administration did not seem very open to approaches that varied significantly from the Senate bill. This would seem to suggest that both Republican priorities, like comprehensive tort reform, and Democratic ones, like re-introducing the public option, are unlikely to generate real support from the White House.”

Contact Graham Wilson, 617-353-2540, gkwilson@bu.edu, or Douglas Kriner, 617-358-4643, dkriner@bu.edu