"close to the finish line"

Paul Krugman says:

Health care reform is getting close to the finish line. The key thing was always to get a bill to the Senate floor, so that reform no longer requires overcoming political inertia; instead, it’s killing reform that would now require drastic action, action that probably won’t happen.

Also, the preferred narrative on cable news and suchlike — that it was 1993 all over again — has been shattered. The momentum is now all with reform.

Something could still go wrong; clearly, Joe Lieberman is itching to find a way to oppose this. And the bill will, of course, leave much to be desired. Still, at this point it looks as if history is in the making.

I hope he's right. I know he is about the bill falling short of hopes, but I hope it's good enough bill to go on with once all the hammering out is done. (Go Howard Dean!)