It was crunch time in the U.S. Capitol on Saturday.  A major piece of legislation hanging in the balance.  A President making a personal appeal to House Democrats.  And thousands of people outside the Capitol chanting "Kill the bill!"

On and off the floor on Saturday, there was the general feeling that Democrats were edging closer to sealing a majority on health care reform, but that they were just short of a majority of 216 votes.

Just like the health care reform vote in the House last November, a key group of votes were again in the ranks of pro-life Democrats.

"They still need votes," said Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL), speaking of the Democratic leadership.  

Lipinski was part of a shrinking group of members allied with Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), who were refusing to accept abortion funding restrictions that were in the Senate bill.

In public, key Democrats said they weren't interested in cutting a deal with the Stupak Group, but there was a lot of deal making going on, with talk about a Presidential Executive Order and more, an effort to find a creative way to bring those pro-life lawmakers on board.

A scrum of reporters surged in search of health reform clues each time that a key pro-life Democrat went in and out of Speaker Pelosi's ceremonial office, just off the House floor.

At one point, reporters pursued Speaker Nancy Pelosi herself, when she suddenly wheeled around, jabbed the air with her finger and said emphatically to reporters, "This bill is not about abortion."

But the lawmakers she was meeting with certainly sent a different message, names like Driehaus, Dahlkemper and Carney.

Pelosi did win over the vote of Rep. Chris Carney (D-PA) later that afternoon, as Stupak's group shrank during the day.  But even if was only a half-dozen, they were votes that Democrats still seemed to need.

Democrats also lost some votes late in the day, as Rep. Zack Space (D-OH) switched from 'Yes' to 'No' and Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) decided to stick with his 'No' vote.

Some speculated that Democrats already had enough votes to win, and were actually letting some endangered Democrats get off the fence early.

We will get a good idea where things stand on Sunday afternoon.  If Democrats push ahead quickly with debate on health care, then they have victory in their grasp.

If the House goes into an extended recess, then more arms need to be twisted.