The White House will closely monitor the Senate Finance Committee vote today, but aides say they will forge ahead to the next (and more important) steps in the long process.

A senior administration official told TPMDC they fully expect the Baucus bill to pass the committee, and that they aren't laser focused on whether Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) will back it. (The White House has no idea which way she's leaning.)

The official said once it passes through the committee, White House analysts will pore over it as senators merge it with what passed the HELP committee earlier this year.

"The proposals really need to be analyzed closely, and we need to see how they achieve the goals of choice and competition," the official said.

Also, expect Robert Gibbs and maybe even the president to portray this vote as a milestone - you've heard it before, but they are very likely to remind the world this is the longest a health care overhaul has ever survived.