No surprise here, but on the eve of a crucial Senate vote on health care reform, the White House said Friday evening it "strongly supports" the $848 billion bill.

The Senate is scheduled to vote, starting at 8 p.m. Saturday, on whether to end a Republican-led filibuster and proceed to formal consideration of the health care overhaul.

The White House made it clear it likes the bill, saying it "represents a critical milestone in the effort to reform our health care system." It cites data from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which issued its preliminary analysis of the bill Wednesday.

"This legislation meets the President’s criteria for health insurance reform: it provides stability and security to those with insurance; offers access to quality, affordable health care for those who do not have insurance; cuts costs for families, small businesses and the Government; and does so without adding a dime to the deficit," the Obama administration statement says.

It adds:

"This legislation is the product of unprecedented cooperation and countless hours of hard work by Members of the Senate who share the President’s conviction that the Nation cannot wait another year for health insurance reform. They have forged a strong consensus that represents an historic step forward.

"The Senate legislation includes critical reforms to the insurance industry, so that Americans will no longer have to worry that they will be denied coverage, or that their coverage will be dropped or watered down when they need it most. It covers virtually all Americans and ensures that all Americans with health insurance are protected against high, out-of-pocket spending.

"The Administration is pleased that the bill includes a public health insurance option offered in an Exchange. As the President has said throughout this process, a public option that competes with private insurers is one of the best ways to provide the choice and competition that are so badly needed in today’s market.

"The Senate bill also includes important health care delivery system and insurance reforms and cost-containment initiatives, and it would extend the solvency of Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund. The Administration is also pleased that the bill creates an Independent Medicare Advisory Board. The bill’s Medicare and Medicaid policies promote integrated care, quality care, and primary care. It invests in research on the most effective treatments, prevention, and the health care workforce. It also makes critical improvements for Medicare beneficiaries including beginning to address the coverage gap in the Medicare drug benefit known as the donut hole. In addition, it provides new options for long-term care. The bill includes important program integrity protections that will safeguard Medicare and Medicaid from fraud, waste, and abuse. Moreover, the Senate bill is not only fully paid for, but also reduces the deficit by $130 billion in the first decade and by more than half a trillion dollars in the next decade. "

President Barack Obama’s political operation shot back at Sarah Plain Friday, saying she sets the agenda for the right and that she’s using the publicity surrounding her book tour to try to stop health care legislation with false attacks.

“Right now, Sarah Palin is on a highly publicized, nationwide book tour, attacking President Obama and his plan for health reform at every turn,” said an email from Mitch Stewart, director of Organizing for America, Obama’s political operation.

“It's dangerous. Remember, this is the person who coined the term `Death Panels’ -- and opened the flood gates for months of false attacks by special interests and partisan extremists.

“Whatever lie comes next will be widely covered by the media, then constantly echoed by right-wing attack groups and others who are trying to defeat reform.”

Stewart, who used the warning as a pitch to raise $500,000, said Palin is getting loads of free publicity on conservative radio and TV shows at the very moment when health care legislation is facing key votes in the Congress.

“As we approach the final sprint on health reform, we can't afford more deception and delay. We need to be ready for anything -- and have the resources to respond with ads, events, and calls to Congress when the attacks come,” he wrote.

“Earlier this month, Palin publicly said that she hopes health reform will be "dead on arrival." And since then, she's been working fiercely toward that goal.

“On Tuesday, Palin went on Rush Limbaugh's radio show where she outrageously -- and falsely -- suggested that Americans could "face jail time as punishment" if they don't buy insurance.

“Palin has many more interviews scheduled on Hannity and other conservative shows in the next few weeks, with more platforms to go after the President. As soon as she does, the rest of our opponents will likely parrot those attacks.”

The Senate, as well as people concerned about the fate of Congress' health care overhaul, are eagerly awaiting news about the next step. Majority Leader Harry Reid has said for weeks he's waiting for an analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office before proceeding. But that was expected last week; now it's nine days before Thanksgiving_and about a month before the target 2009 adjournment date.

So here's an update on how things are going from Reid's press conference earlier Tuesday:

QUESTION: Senator Reid, is it still your intention to hold a cloture vote on the motion (to proceed to debate on the health care bill?)

REID: We're going to hold it soon as we can.

QUESTION: Senator, when do you expect to hear from CBO? Do you still expect that to be later today or (inaudible)?

REID: We're going to be hearing from CBO very soon. I spoke to (CBO director) Doug Elmendorf today, a couple hours ago. Everything is moving along just fine.As soon as we get the bill, we'll share it with everyone.

QUESTION: What do you see...

QUESTION: Will you move to the bill soon?

REID: Yeah, I feel cautiously optimistic that we can do that.

QUESTION: Are you in on Saturday?

REID: The question is are we in on Saturday. We'll have to wait and see. I hope not, but it's possible.

President Obama is in Alaska, refueling en route to Japan and meeting with troops at Elmendorf Air Force Base.

Among the news from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs en route to Alaska:

--Obama’s likely to hold at least one more meeting on the war plans;

--He will not announce his new strategy for Afghanistan until after he returns home from the Asia trip;

--The US is talking with Afghanistan about benchmarks to measure progress once the new strategy is announced.

“Some benchmarks HAVE been discussed,” Gibbs said. “But…the president believes that we have been there for eight years. And we’re not going to be there forever. … It’s important to fully examine not just how we’re going to get folks in but how we’re going to get folks out.”

 “The embassy there is working on agreements with the Afghan government. … I think it’s sufficient to say that whether on the civilian side of our effort, whether on the military side of our effort, or the governance side of the Afghans’, the President will want – has asked for, and will want – benchmarks to evaluate our progress. That’s part of his desire to get a sense of where we are rather than committing to an open-ended conflict.”

--White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is not on the trip, presumably staying in DC to work on health care.

--First Lady Michelle Obama also is not on the week-plus trip, definitely staying in DC to work on the First Family.  “There are two calculations,” Gibbs said. “One’s Malia. And the other one is Sasha. … She has, first and foremost, that responsibility. And being away for so long, she’s taking care of that.”

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd faces new problems in his bid for a new Senate term next year: By a 53-39 percent margin, Connecticut voters do not think he deserves re-elecction.

Those are among the findings of a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday. The poll of 1,236 Connecticut voters was conducted Nov. 3-8, and margin of error is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

It found Dodd trailing former Rep. Rob Simmons, a Republican, by 49-38. He would also lose to former World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon, 43-41.

Dodd has been a leading figure in crafting health care and banking system overhaul legislation this year.

But, said poll director Douglas Schwartz in a statement, "Healthcare is an issue that should work for Sen. Dodd. Voters who tell us it's the most important issue side with him. But voters who care most about the economy say the Republican candidate will be better able to deal with it. If the economy worsens, this will hurt Dodd."

Simmons leads GOP primary candidates with 28 percent; McMahon has 17 percent.

Here's the poll: http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1296.xml?ReleaseID=1395

And now a word from Senate Republicans...

Now that the House of Representatives has passed its version of health care change, the measure heads to the Senate, where it faces a bumpy path. Here's what Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., had to say today about the bill:

"The government-run plan that narrowly passed the House Saturday was rejected by one in seven House Democrats and a majority of Americans. It should serve as a stark reminder that Americans don’t want a 2,000-page, trillion-dollar government experiment—they want commonsense reforms.

“Soon, Senate Democrats will propose their own version.  We don’t know how big it will be or how expensive, but we do know with certainty that it will mean higher premiums, higher taxes and massive cuts to Medicare to create even more government programs. That’s not reform.”

If you're keeping score of the likely House of Representatives vote on health care Saturday, Congressional Quarterly has found at least 20 Democratic no votes.

But in its effort to survey 70 party moderates, it also found 20 undecided and 19 whose views were unknown. Eleven were yes votes or leaning that way.

The findings illustrate why the vote, expected late Saturday, remains suspenseful. It takes 218 votes to pass legislation, and the House has 258 Democrats.

Here's the list: http://www.cq.com/document/display.do?docid=3243366

The House of Representatives should finish voting on the historic health care overhaul bill by 7 or 8 p.m. Saturday night, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Friday.

But, Hoyer warned, that timetable could slip is "there are delaying tactics or something interferes." He would not say he had the 218 votes needed for passage, but said "We're  very close."

The hangups are largely over abortion and immigration. Anti-abortion Democrats want it clear that federal money will not be used for elective abortion services, and Hoyer has been trying to include language in the legislation to make that crystal clear.

He also is trying to satisfy wavering members on immigration. There is concern that illegal immigrants will have access to government money to help them pay for health care; Hoyer insists that won't be the case.

The talks will continue, and at the moment, plans are to begin debate Saturday morning. Republicans are expected to be allowed an hour to debate their alternative, followed by a vote. There would also be three hours set aside for general debate, and an hour to debate the rules on how to proceed.

Wondering when the House of Representatives may take up health care? Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., tried to make it perfectly clear, as he explained Tuesday at a press conference how he may/should/must abide by the rule that legislation be made available to the public 72 hours in advance. Here's the exchange with reporters:

Question (from a reporter): I am a little unclear on the timing of health care that at least you are looking at this week.

hour thing, first of all, A, is that from when the manager's amendment is brought to final vote and beginning debate? And also, how do you feel about the House taking up UI this week given what the Senate has added to it?

Mr. Hoyer. Let me answer the first question. What are the specifics of the first question? 13

Q Is the 72 hours meaning you start debate, and then there will be a vote after 72 hours; or are you saying you won't start debate until the 72 hours?

Mr. Hoyer. We are certainly not going to have a vote for 72 hours, But it is my intent to give 72 hours before the bill comes to the floor.

Q Before floor action begins?

Mr. Hoyer. Yes. That is my intent. Now, if we miss that by 3 or 4 hours in terms of bringing it to the floor, but we don't have a vote until substantially later, I am not going to consider that an egregious violation of my own rule.

Democrats are in jeopardy of not meeting their long-sought goal of getting a health care overhaul bill on President Barack Obama's desk by the end of the year.

Asked Tuesday if that goal was reachable, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said "We're not going to be bound by any time lines. We need to do the best job we can for the American people. We want quality legislation, and we're going to do that."

Reid has had trouble finding consensus among eight to 12 Senate Democratic moderates, centrists he badly needs to reach the 60-vote threshold required to overcome procedural hurdles.

It's expected the Senate will need at least a month to consider health care legislation, and with Veterans Day next Wednesday and Thanksgiving Nov. 26, time is running short.

Reid said he was undeterred. "We're going to do this legislation as expeditiously as we can, but we're going to do it as fairly as we can, also," he said.

The House of Representatives is expected to take up its version of the bill Friday,with a possible vote Saturday. Its measure would then have to be combined with whatever the Senate passes--a negotiation that could take some time--and the two Houses would then vote again.