Health care vote brings champagne celebrations

The news was so good, it called for champagne.

With House passage of a health care overhaul secured Sunday night, and his celebratory East Room statement delivered, President Barack Obama invited dozens of aides who worked on health care to the Truman Balcony to mark the moment with him. Never mind that it was after midnight and everyone was exhausted after a long day — make that a long year — of work.

The bubbly, the twinkling lights of Washington's monuments in the distance and a victory to savor — finally — made it all worth it.

Senior adviser David Axelrod said he hadn't seen Obama that happy since Election Night 2008 when he learned he won the White House. Axelrod said Obama "was in a great mood."

So was everyone else.