Obama Not Done With The Public Option Yet?

So says Marc Ambinder’s source at the White House who claims HHS Secretary Sebelius “misspoke” yesterday when she said a public option wasn’t a necessary part of a deal.

Truth or misstatement, combine it with Sen. Kent Conrad’s statement that a public option was dead in the Senate and Sunday was a bad day for Obama.

Some are speculating Sebelius might have been launching a trial balloon. If that’s the case, consider it shot down.

A healthcare reform deal abandoning a public (or "government-run") option for consumers could cost as many as 100 Democratic votes in the House, one House Democratic lawmaker warned Monday.

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) asserted that rumored compromises on a Senate bill to win centrist votes would torpedo healthcare reform's prospects with liberal members of the House.

"If the president thinks he's cutting a deal to get Senate votes, he's probably losing House votes," Weiner warned during an interview on CNBC this morning.

Obama’s problem (well, one of many) is that he seems to really believe a lot of his own PR bullshit. Remember when Obama was going to be the great healer, the man to span the bitter divisions of the nation? How’s that working out? It turns out there are things people believe in strongly and aren’t willing to give up (they cling to them, one might say) simply because that’s what Obama thinks is good for them.

Right now, he’s neck deep in an issue where the vast majority aren’t willing to sign over their future to him and he can’t figure out how to force them to, even with huge majorities in both houses of Congress.

Being President is hard.

BTW- Was Sebelius reported to Flag@whitehouse.gov for spreading false information?

posted by DrewM. at 10:45 AM

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