Reid Seeks Momentum in Health Debate

Reid "wants to get that wind under his belt before all these senators leave for Thanksgiving recess and don't see each other for another week or so," CBS News' Capitol Hill Correspondent Nancy Cordes said on "Washington Unplugged" Friday.

She said members of the Senate leadership are increasingly confident that they will get the sixty votes needed to start debate on the health care bill. Right now, Cordes said, Reid has the solid support of fifty-eight senators.

"We are getting smoke signals from just about everybody at this point that in fact they will vote yes to actually start this debate in motion," Cordes told Bob Schieffer. "They are not saying how they will vote in the end but the consensus seems to be, 'why not start debating it then you can bring up amendments to try to change the parts of the bill that you don't like, and then in the end you can always vote no again?'"

The interview took place at the Senate's Russell Rotunda, where a concert was taking place below. As the health care debrief came to an end, a loud crescendo could be heard.

"It's a very dramatic issue," Cordes joked.

To watch the full interview click on the video above.

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"Washington Unplugged" appears live on CBSNews.com each weekday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Click here to check out previous episodes.