If you ever have the chance, listen to some of the taped telephone calls between lawmakers and President Lyndon B. Johnson, on a variety of topics. It's amazing stuff to listen to, as he cajoles and pushes reluctant Democrats and Republicans.

This week we have seen people go back and forth like grass in the wind on health reform. There was Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), who was blabbing last week about how he was going to vote no because of provisions in the underlying Senate bill dealing with illegal immigrants.

I never put him in the 'No' column on my vote count, and sure enough, he flipped back yesterday after Democrats released their final plan.

"After extensive discussion with the President, I believe we have a health care bill that I can vote yes for," Gutierrez told reporters.

What exactly had changed in the last five days wasn't clear. But I would note the "extensive discussion" part of his answer.

It reminded me of back in 1993, when President Bill Clinton was searching for the final few votes on his controversial deficit reduction/budget plans.

There was a freshman Democrat from Georgia by the name of Don Johnson. He didn't want to vote for that bill, because he probably knew it might lead to his defeat in the next election.

This was back before cell phones had made a big impact, so the White House would telephone members through the Democratic Cloakroom in the House Chamber, and track them down on the floor for a conversation with a top administration official and then the President himself.

Johnson finally cracked and voted for the bill. He lost his seat in 1994, along with a lot of other Democrats.

I think back to 2003, when Republicans were trying to push through the Medicare Prescription Drug benefit for seniors. The GOP lost the vote in the House, but they kept the vote open for over three hours in the middle of the night.

GOP lawmakers physically blocked the doors of the chamber, so that no Republicans could leave the floor. They wanted someone to change their votes.

One of those who cracked was Butch Otter of Idaho. I remember seeing him come out of a leadership office just off the House floor looking like he had been beaten with rubber hoses for 90 minutes. He voted yes, despite a lot of talk to the contrary before the vote.

I mention Otter's name because he is now the Governor of Idaho, and just yesterday, he signed into law a bill that basically threatens a lawsuit against the United States Government over health care reform legislation.

Another power play I remember was in 1987, when Democrats in the House were trying to push through a budget resolution. The vote was 206-205 against it.

Speaker Jim Wright sent out a group of members to find someone who had voted no on the Democratic side and bring them back to change their vote. They found someone from Wright's home state of Texas, as Rep. Jim Chapman switched his vote to yes.

I relate these stories to remind my readers that even someone who says they may vote no on health reform, that person could still change his or her vote with enough pressure from someone like a President or a Speaker of the House.

Stay tuned on that front this weekend.