Dodd: Health reform bill 'hanging by a thread'

On his way out the door, retiring Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn) has some bad news for health reform advocates still cheering the late December Senate vote.

"Health care reform is 'hanging on by a thread,' and one or two votes could determine the outcome of the heavily-debated bill, Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd told CNBC Monday," the cable business news network reports.

Dodd said you would have to be "living on the moon" not to know what senators have already gone on the record with having issues with the plan, citing Nebraska's Ben Nelson, Connecticut's Joe Lieberman and Senator Blanche Lincoln from Arkansas.

"Everyone feels, I guess, to some degree who have been for this, that they would have liked something different, and that's not uncommon when you're considering an issue of this magnitude," Dodd said.

"If this is all about surviving politically, then we're missing the whole purpose of what we're supposed to be doing," Dodd added.

Dodd said he admired President Obama for taking health reform on, and that doing nothing would "strangle" the economy.

The National Review's Corner quotes a "senior GOP Senate staffer" responding to Dodd:

Sounds like there is a full-scale operation underway to convince liberals: Unite, you have nothing to lose but your principles. They’re working over the progressive caucus, Big Labor, and other Lefty groups to convince them that a bad bill is better than no bill. They have no margin for error, so they’re doing everything they can to unite groups who dislike the bill.

Video of Dodd's CNBC interview can be viewed at this link.