This hasn’t exactly gained wide currency yet, but we are now being invited to believe that Ben Nelson does not intend to obstruct the healthcare reform bill even if his demands over abortion language are not met:

As for Nelson, the aide says that the Nebraska senator is playing a “constructive role” in meetings and seems unlikely to uphold a filibuster if he is the decisive vote. “My head says his heart wants to vote for this, despite all the hullabaloo.”

Of course, that’s just an anonymous “senior Senate aide”.

And this is what Nelson was saying publicly after the caucus meeting at the White House yesterday:

I’m not on the bill. I have spoken with the president and he knows they are not wrapped up today. I think everybody understands they are not wrapped up today and that impression will not be given.

So, if you’re willing to pin any real faith on this hope at this point, you can’t have been a sentient Democrat very long.

(On the “wide currency” angle, try googling Nelson “My head says his heart”, and see how many hits you get. This may change over the day, but as of 5:30 a.m., it produced just a solitary hit. And the quote is from an update posted yesterday to a post at The New Republic.)