Health Care Battle a Prelude to the 2010 Midterm Elections

The Senate's vote to move health care reform legislation to the floor is not only the beginning of debate about the bill, but a prelude to the political battles Democrats and Republicans will wage in next year's midterm elections, the Los Angeles Times says.

The Democrats will be running as the party that has kept its word on pushing an agenda of progress and casting the GOP as "the party of 'no.'" The Republicans will say Democrats are not only trying to impose big government on health care but also on every other aspect of life.

And, if Democrats cannot deliver a health care bill for President Obama's signature, according to the Times, the GOP will depict a picture of a president who can't make things happen even with all the branches of government in his party's control.