Washington in 60 Seconds: Does Nancy Pelosi Have the Votes?

Good morning, Capitolists! We've seen fire and we've seen rain, but we never thought we'd see a sex scandal with male congressional staffers in a midterm election year again. It's been that kind of week, and as Glenn Beck said, we're worried we wasted your time on that one.

Here's what's making news in Washington today, of the non-dirty variety:

* Does Nanners Have the Votes? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the best cat-herder in town, has been shuttling between meetings with the White House and Senate leaders, who have asked her to do the near-impossible -- pass a health care bill through her chamber that her members don't like, before making changes that they might like more. Factions of pro-life Dems say they'll bolt if the abortion language isn't tightened; pro-choice members say they'll vote no if it is; the Hispanic caucus wants the language on illegal immigration changed; and a bunch of moderates are wondering if they're going to lose in November no matter what they do. So does she have the 216 to pass the bill? If she did, the House would have voted by now.

* They'll Be for It Before They're Against It. Alexander Bolton at The Hill reports on an arcane but enormously momentous decision from the Senate parliamentarian (for our purposes, let's call him the health care referee). Said referee has ruled that Congress cannot pass a reconciliation bill for health care reform until the Senate bill becomes law. That torpedoes the House Democrats' hopes of quietly voting for the Senate bill -- complete with Cornhusker kickback and other provisions they want out -- and then immediately voting for their package of fixes to it before Obama signs it. Cue the 30-second ads for 2010 John Kerry windsurfing remakes.

* Rove's Torturous Interview. Karl Rove took a walk down memory lane with the BBC yesterday, agreeing that Congress probably would not have approved the use of force in Iraq without the assertion that Saddam Hussein had WMD. He also gave a ringing endorsement to the use of waterboarding, which he said is not torture, saying, "I'm proud that we kept the world safer than it was, by the use of these techniques." Asked if he felt sick when he found out Hussein did not have WMD, he said, "I'm not certain I would say 'sick.' "

* Corker Out; Dodd Goes It Alone. After more than a month of negotiations, the exceedingly genial Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) announced yesterday he can't put his name on the financial regulatory overhaul that Sen. Chris Dodd will introduce Monday. "Sadly, I fear that in order to pass their health care bill, this administration is willing to crowd out every other important issue our country faces, and financial regulatory reform bill may be the latest casualty," Corker explained.

* The Not-So-Social Secretary. The New York Times has a lengthy piece about former social secretary Desiree Rogers and the sharp elbows at the White House that forced her out. In Peter Baker's report, we learn that David Axelrod was nonplussed by Rogers' frequent magazine appearances, a photo shoot that included a pair of $100,000 earrings, and Rogers' description of her job as managing "the Obama brand." Ax said at one point, "The president is a person, not a product."