Washington in 60 Seconds: 'No' to 'Yes' on Health Care Reform?

Top o' the morning to you, Capitolists! It's a national holiday at this column, since our people hailed from the Emerald Isle. But with leprechauns, honorary Irishmen and the Taoiseach himself in the news today, how could we possibly stay away?

Here's what's happening in Washington today:

- Little Man, Big News. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) voted against the House health care bill last November because he said it wasn't liberal enough for him. But he'll announce this morning how he's voting this time around. Democratic leaders, led by President O'Bama, have been leaning hard on the petite populist to change his mind, so we'll soon see how well they did their job.

- Rolling Out the Green Carpet. The prime minister of Ireland, Brian Cowan, graces American soil today and heads to the Capitol for the annual Friends of Ireland lunch with O'Bama, Vice President Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Later, he'll be the guest of honor at the White House's St. Patrick's Day reception. Does anyone have a spare sari? We might want to crash that one.

- Memo to House Members: Cancel Those Brunch Plans. Member of the House have been told by their leaders to cancel their plans for Saturday and Sunday in the event of a vote on the health care bill. House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter said yesterday she expects her committee to meet Friday morning to set the rules for the health care bill, which means a final vote will come this weekend at the earliest.

- Joe O'Who? We all know the McCain presidential camp was worried sick that Sarah Palin would call Joe Biden "Joe O'Biden" during their vice presidential debate, but that seemed like an isolated incident. Well, not so much. At a House Appropriations Committee hearing yesterday, Rep. Joe Bonner (R-Ala.) questioned OMB Director Peter Orszag about Senate procedure and pointed to "Senator O'Biden." Bonner quickly spotted his flub and said, "uh, Senator Biden."

- Only a Test. If you are in Washington this week and see fighter jets storming overhead, no need to stock up on canned foods for your underground shelter. The Pentagon announced this week they're just practicing maneuvers. What they're practicing for we don't want to know, but they are just practicing.