More important, he doesn't want to risk calling a vote without knowing its outcome.

It definitely was surprising, and disappointing, that Dickerson didn't back this up by pointing out that this ALREADY HAPPENED to Reid on healthcare, and so he's probably even MORE scared about it than he'd normally be. There was a bill that would have secured the support of a lot of doctors for healthcare reform by ensuring their payments through Medicare remain high. (Hence, "the doctor fix"). It wasn't paid for an a surprising number of conservative Democrats voted against it. He brought it to a final vote fully expecting passage, and was blown away by a dramatic loss.

47-53 - a simple majority against. No 60-vote magic here. Really surprised JD didn't mention it.