Obama rallies Dems: 'We're 24 hours away' from health reform

Democrats are mere hours away from passing comprehensive health reform legislation, President Barack Obama said Saturday.

In a speech to the House Democratic Caucus this weekend ahead of a momentous healthcare vote expected Sunday, the president acknowledged the tough vote tomorrow for Democratic lawmakers, but sought to appeal to their reasons for having come to Congress in the first place.

"We're 24 hours away," Obama told House Democrats to cheers in a televised caucus meeting that often resembled a pep rally for health reform.

And after a hectic Saturday afternoon which saw shifting votes and strategies for their healthcare bill, the president framed tomorrow's vote as an opportunity to act on behalf of the Americans.

"I still know this is a tough vote, though. I've talked to many of you individually," Obama said. "You're here to represent your constituencies, and if you think your constituencies honestly shouldn't be helped, you shouldn't vote for this."

But the president later added: "But if you agree the system's not working for ordinary families...then help us fix this system."

Obama derided Republican criticisms of the bill, joking that GOP leaders in the House and Senate hardly have the interests of Democrats in mind.

But the president urged lawmakers to put their own reelections, along with the fate of the elections and his own presidency, out of their minds.

"Don't do it for me. Don't do it for the Democratic Party," he said. "Do it for the American people."

The House is expected to vote on the Senate's healthcare bill as well as a series of fixes to it during Sunday afternoon votes.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), in a speech to House Democrats preceding Obama's, said he'd secured the commitment of a "significant majority" of Senate Democrats to move forward with whatever the House passes tomorrow.

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