You have one chance. Pass the senate health care bill.
The public does not differentiate between the house bill and the senate bill.
You already voted for the house bill.
Your republican opponent in the fall is going to pin that vote on you incessantly.
And those who support reform are not going to be all that enthusiastic because you did not pass it.
So you have the worst of both worlds: blame for the vote, and no credit for passage.
The republicans had one goal: prevent the passage of health care.
They have almost succeeded.
The only bills (of any consequence) that will pass between now and January 2011 (if not later) are bills through reconciliation. The republicans have zero incentive to cooperate with anything. Obstruction has served them very well in the polls.
Health care reform cannot be done solely through reconciliation.
Pass the senate bill and then fix what can be fixed through reconciliation.
That is all.