In a quirky but somewhat convincing analysis, the perspicacious Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic magazine blogs a list of five recent developments that, he believes, may have rescued the big health care bill from the death it likely faced on the day after the Scott Brown election in Mass. I note that of the five, two were actions by Republicans and one by health insurers.

I'll summarize them in chronological order, although Ambinder, for some reason, presents them in reverse order:

1. "The decision by some insurers to significantly raise their premiums on people with coverage." Ambinder says this gave a group of Americans who were most resistant to change — because they were relatively happy with the status quo — reason to wonder whether they might benefit from a change that that Obama keeps telling them will hold down future premium hikes.
2. "The White House decision to unleash the president's brain" and put him on television explaining the bill and talking back to the Repub talking points.
3. The decision of many Republicans who had previously supported a congressional deficit/debt reduction commission, to block the idea instead, which undermined several key Repub claims, such as that they are the party that really wants to deal with the deficit and that they are more than mere obstructionists whose only goal is to prevent Obama from accomplishing anything.
4. Kentucky Repub Sen. Jim Bunning's recent one-man filibuster to block an extension of unemployment benefits. Writes Ambinder: "Bunning's decision to put a face on Republican obstructionism in the Senate. It's true that the GOP had a nice opportunity to challenge the president during his health care forum at Blair House, and quite a few GOPers distinguished themselves by coming prepared to talk -- at least talk -- substance.  Bunning's gesture of ill will erased any credibility the GOP Senate had."
5. And, effective yesterday, "the president stepped up to the plate and provided Democrats with something they've been wanting for a year: a plan of action and an endorsement of the often-used but suddenly controversial reconciliation procedure to pass the Senate's bill with a majority vote. Yesterday's presidential speech was the culmination of a month's worth of pre-decisional communication."

What think?