Media declares healthcare summit a “tie”

 That is to say, the Republicans “won” the summit:

[T]he tie goes to Republicans, according to operatives on both sides of the aisle — because the stakes were so much higher for Democrats trying to build their case for ramming reform through using a 51-vote reconciliation tactic.

“I think it was a draw, which was a Republican win,” said Democratic political consultant Dan Gerstein. “The Republican tone was just right: a respectful, substantive disagreement, very disciplined and consistent in their message.”

The White House and Hill Democrats had hoped congressional Republicans would prove themselves to be unruly, unreasonable and incapable of a serious policy discussion — “the face of gridlock,” as one Democrat put it hours before the summit.

It’s bad news for the left when Democrats acknowledge that Republicans–Republicans—came out looking like the winner in what essentially was a debate with the Obama-led Democrats.

I really don’t think that anyone who even bothered to pay attention was swayed in either direction.  If you opposed reform the summit didn’t change your mind, and likewise if you support reform.  But I think the onus was on reformists who desperately needed to sway undecideds.  Looking at a room of politicians trying to make sense of taking over almost 20% of the US economy, it wasn’t hard to see why they hadn’t moved at all.