Obama has gone “all in” with his healthcare strategy, now delaying a foreign trip to have more time to pressure House Democrats:

The president’s international trip had grown into a source of frustration among many House Democrats, who complained privately to the White House that they were being forced to take a quick vote on health care so Mr. Obama and his family could leave on a trip to Indonesia next week.

The president agreed to delay his departure from March 18 to March 21, an administration official said, in an effort to show flexibility in the final push on health care legislation. The three-day delay effectively sets a new timetable for the House vote on the measure.

He has outlined a healthcare reform plan after a year of saying it was up to Congress to come up with one.  Obama has revealed his hand after months of ambiguity. It’s obvious why.  The original hope was to have a bipartisan plan.  By not laying down an explicit plan, he could have hoped that Republicans and Democrats came up with one together.  He was playing to two audiences.  One audience has rejected his message.  This leaves only the Democrats.  Now, he has to nail his colors to the mast to get them to pass healthcare alone using the Byrd Rule that Jeff discusses below.