News from Wednesday

The Hill reports that the president thinks government 'will go bankrupt' without health reform: "'[I]f we don't do this, nobody argues with the fact that health care costs are going to consume the entire federal budget,' Obama told ABC's Charlie Gibson in an interview airing tonight."

Meanwhile, CBS News reports U.S. National Debt Tops Debt Limit: "The latest calculation of the National Debt as posted by the Treasury Department has - at least numerically - exceeded the statutory Debt Limit approved by Congress last February as part of the Recovery Act stimulus bill."

WordNet sheds some light on the meaning of bankrupt: "someone who has insufficient assets to cover their debts."

Fortunately, by a vote of 218-214, the House sprinkled some pixie dust to magically increase that all important asset—the national debt-limit: "In an end-of-session nail-biter vote, the House passed a short-term increase of the debt limit Wednesday, which sets the stage for a February showdown on deficit spending."