Wanted by Senate Democrats: A Republican or two to support health bill

As U.S. Sen. Harry Reid tries to corral enough Democratic votes for his $848 billion health care reform bill, the Democrat from Nevada may find solace in the words of Mark Twain. When the writer was once asked if he belonged to an organized political party in the United States, he replied "I don't belong to any organized political party. I'm a Democrat."

But holding together the diverse, cantankerous and seemingly new-health-care-idea-a-day Senate Democratic caucus to pass the bill isn't the Senate Majority Leader's only challenge. Reid will probably have to recruit one or two Republicans to achieve his goal. The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved (220-215) its own version of a health reform bill last month.