Obama rallies base around health bill

President Barack Obama on Wednesday made a plea to his base to rally around healthcare reform as Congress inches closer to a vote on the massive bill.

The president signed an e-mail sent to Organizing for America supporters, the grassroots arm of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) that's mainly comprised of his campaign supporters.

"The politicians in Washington need courage to face down the powerful interests who have held back progress for far too long," he wrote in the e-mail. "And all of us who share this cause need courage to speak up with persistence and clarity in these final days."

The message came hours after liberal Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) became one of the first "no" votes on healthcare in November to switch his vote to "yes."

Obama lobbied Kucinich for his vote several times in the last several days, inviting him aboard Air Force One to fly to a healthcare rally in his district on Monday.

Five other House Democrats, Ann Kirkpatrick (Ariz.), Gabrielle Giffords (Ariz.), Dan Maffei (N.Y.) James Oberstar (Minn.) and Raul Grijalva (Ariz.), also have signaled in the last 24 hours that they will or are likely to support the measure.

But Republicans have said they will remain unified against the bill and some GOP leaders have predicted the measure will fail.

According to The Hill's survey of votes, 33 Democrats are likely to or will vote "no" on the bill, while 50 are undecided.

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