Does Benedict Arlen's switch make a difference ??

It didn't in trying to block the porkulus. Maybe it's just the optimist in me but I think there are more than a few Dems who are a little uncomfortable with this development; particularly Dem senators in red states.

Polls continue to show that even though Obama is well regarded by most Americans, his policies are not. As long as there was the threat of a potential filibuster some of the over-reaching policies could be scaled back to make them more politically palatable. Now the political safety-guards have been removed. Some Dems may now find themselves in the position of having to vote for extremist legislation or be the vote that blocked their own President's agenda.