The House fell nine votes short of overriding President Bush's veto of a bill that would have expanded the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Over the course of the debate on the bill we've looked at the money Sen. Mitch McConnell and President Bush have taken from HMOs and Big Tobacco (the increase in the program would have been funded by an additional tax on tobacco products). Now we see the end result: another example of big money interests dominating over voter concerns.

Incidentally, a 12-year old boy and his family who spoke in support of SCHIP were the subjects of an attempted smear campaign by opponents of the program expansion. Though the office of Sen. Mitch McConnell initially tried to turn reporters on to this story, the Senator recently denied any involvement. The full story is here.