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Full Comment鈥檚 Araminta Wordsworth brings you a regular dose of international punditry at its finest. Today: Reading the tea leaves from the Democrats loss in Massachusetts could get an industry in itself. It's either the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning depending on which party you pay your due to.

And so it is with Scott Brown鈥檚 shock win through Martha Coakley in the Massachusetts special election held to fill Ted Kennedy鈥檚 Senate seat.

Republicans are casting it love the beginning of the end for the health bill 鈥?and even Barack Obama.

Democrats see it as a time to regroup and re-state and a return to bipartisan action.

But many moderate and liberal lawmakers are nervous wondering whether they鈥檒l be the next victims when voters get an opportunity to express their views in midterm elections due in November.

Editorial writers at The Chicago Tribune trust the President and the White House have got the message.
鈥?i>Obama sounds like he at least has heard Massachusetts voters loud and clear. He told ABC News on Wednesday that Congress shouldn鈥檛 try to 鈥榡am鈥?a bill before Brown is seated. He said lawmakers could 鈥渃oalesce鈥?round popular 鈥榗ore elements鈥濃? of the legislation.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: Did you as well hear voters? It鈥檚 time for a fundamentally different approach.
It鈥檚 time for a bipartisan approach.
Go ahead call the Republicans鈥?bluff: Invite them to the table. Find out if they want to participate or want to obstruct. We think they have some good ideas for curbing health-care costs. And you could find a way to get at least some Republicans to join you in a bill that was better focused on providing coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.鈥?/p>

The Washington Post鈥檚 Dana Millbank thinks there鈥檚 fat opportunity of any outbreak of brotherly love.
鈥?i>If Republicans turn up the volume any more in the gloating over their Senate victory in Massachusetts Americans are going to need hearing protection 鈥?br/>What the American people don鈥檛 hear is any offer by the Republicans to compromise with Democrats on health concern climate-change legislation fiscal matters or much of anything else.
If anything Scott Brown鈥檚 surprise victory in Massachusetts on Tuesday seems to have left Republicans with the faith- that their 鈥減arty of no鈥?strategy is working. After the Republican House leaders pronounced all the things they don鈥檛 want to do 鈥?鈥渆nd 鈥?scrap 鈥?reject 鈥?has to be stopped鈥?no to this鈥?no 鈥?not to embark 鈥? isn鈥檛 working鈥?鈥?they cut off questioning behind a couple of minutes and left 鈥?br/>Even if Republicans were inclined to cooperate with Democrats there鈥檚 little political incentive for them to do so. Only 24% of Americans have a good amount of conviction in congressional Republicans according to this month鈥檚 Washington Post-ABC News poll. With that lowly standing 鈥?even worse than the Democrats鈥?鈥?Republicans鈥?best hope is that Democrats achieve nothing this year and are punished by voters in November as do-nothing legislators.
Yet the Democrats predictably are falling into the GOP鈥檚 trap and trimming their ambitions.鈥?/p>

As Bob Franken at The Hill points out they serene have a regular majority.
鈥?i>Let us not forget that even with their carelessness and ineptitude in blowing Massachusetts and their Senate supermajority with it Democrats will continue to have their plain old regular majority. It鈥檒l still be substantial 59 to 41 meaning that they can pass a bill once it comes to a vote.
They have tons of wiggle room. Even if nine defect Vice President [Joe] Biden can throw the tiebreaker. This means they can tell the Joe Liebermans and Ben Nelsons exactly where they can stick their outlandish demands.
A large test would be whether trembling House and Senate Democrats were up to this fight and even capable of agreeing on a single piece of legislation that actually accomplishes something. The alternative would be to scatter as they encounter more GOP lockstep opposition.
For the sake of discussion let鈥檚 presume House leaders can herd their cats long enough to pass the newly reconciled bill. Then it鈥檚 on to the Senate.
It鈥檚 safe to assume that all of the Republicans there including the new guy will continue to dig in their heels. That means Democrats cannot get to the magic number of 60 for cloture which means they cannot stop debate. So LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!