White House appears ready to drop 'public option.'

[red states rule]

This may be a scam to put the public at ease and make them think they've won, before the Dems put the public option back in the bill - then pass it

Watch the Republicans go for this "compromise!" The current bunch of Republicans love to compromise with the Dems so they get a pat on the back, and favorable coverage on MSNBC



Obama may drop government-run health insurance plan

Sebelius says option is 'not essential'
By Sean Lengell

Monday, August 17, 2009


In the face of strong public criticism at town-hall meetings and skepticism on Capitol Hill, Obama administration officials said Sunday that the president is willing to accept a health care proposal that includes nonprofit health insurance cooperatives rather than insist on a government-run insurance program.

The move was a major concession to conservative Democrats and moderate Republicans that quickly won applause from several lawmakers concerned that reform efforts were being sunk by fears that such a federally subsidized program would lead to a government takeover of health care.

"Look, the fact of the matter is there are not the votes in the United States Senate for the public option. There never have been," Sen. Kent Conrad, North Dakota Democrat, said on "Fox News Sunday." "So to continue to chase that rabbit, I think, is just a wasted effort."

Some prominent liberal Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, reiterated their faith in the public option. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas said it would be "very, very difficult" to win her support for a bill that did not include a public option.

Spokesmen for the top two Republicans on Capitol Hill were cautious when asked for reactions Sunday afternoon.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and White House press secretary Robert Gibbs appeared on Sunday's political talk shows to say that what the president wants is to introduce competitors to private insurance plans, and whether this is done by a government-run insurance program or private cooperatives is not important.

Mrs. Sebelius said on CNN's "State of the Union" that while President Obama "continues to be very supportive of some options for consumers" in the health insurance market, a government-run, public-option plan is "not the essential element."

"I think the president is just continuing to say, let's not have this be the only focus of the conversation," she said, though she promised that the final version of the bill would improve "choice and competition" for consumers.

"I think there will be a competitor to private insurers," she said. "That's really the essential part ... you don't turn over the whole new marketplace to private insurance companies and trust them to do the right thing. We need some choices; we need some competition

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/17/sebelius-federal-run-health-care-not-essential/?feat=home_cube_position1

[Kathianne]

Related editorial on 'reality settling in' or so we can hope:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/horseraceblog/


August 16, 2009
Obama Misread His Mandate

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After a rough week for health care reform, Democratic leaders appear to be pulling back on their demand for a public option. It remains to be seen whether liberal Democrats, especially in the House where they are more numerous, will go along with this. But this is still a step in the right direction to get something passed this year.

The public option was an overreach. The White House's erroneous belief that it could get it through the legislature - or at least that it could let four out of five congressional committees push it - was a misinterpretation of last year's election results. It has already made a similar mistake with cap-and-trade, backing a House bill that appears to have no chance of success in the Senate.

Bismarck once commented that politics is the art of the possible. So far, the White House has not exhibited a good understanding of exactly what is possible in this political climate. It has been acting as though the President's election was a major change in the ideological orientation of the country...

The President should have realized what was possible and what wasn't, and he should have used his substantial influence to push the House toward the kind of centrist compromise the Senate will ultimately require. That's called building a consensus - something he promised he'd do but has not yet made a serious effort at.

[red states rule]

Related editorial on 'reality settling in' or so we can hope:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/horseraceblog/

I will believe Obama is waving the white flag when I see it. Remember, these same people attacked the people attending the town halls as Nazi's, ignorant, uninformed, and evil mongers

Are we now to believe they were right - and their vocies were heard?

This is why I think Dems are trying to defuse the public pressure. Passing socialized healthcare is what the Dems dreamed of each night, they wont give up.

They have been at it for decades. They are too close to give up!

Now the Republicans are like the dog that finally caught the car. What will they do with it now?

[red states rule]

Now, Linda Douglass says Sebelus "mispoke"

Do these clowns ever talk to each other? And they expect us to let them run the healthcare industry?



Administration Official: "Sebelius Misspoke."

An administration official said tonight that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius "misspoke" when she told CNN this morning that a government run health insurance option "is not an essential part" of reform. This official asked not to be identified in exchange for providing clarity about the intentions of the President. The official said that the White House did not intend to change its messaging and that Sebelius simply meant to echo the president, who has acknowledged that the public option is a tough sell in the Senate and is, at the same time, a must-pass for House Democrats, and is not, in the president's view, the most important element of the reform package.

A second official, Linda Douglass, director of health reform communications for the administration, said that President Obama believed that a public option was the best way to reduce costs and promote competition among insurance companies, that he had not backed away from that belief, and that he still wanted to see a public option in the final bill.

"Nothing has changed.," she said. "The President has always said that what is essential that health insurance reform lower costs, ensure that there are affordable options for all Americans and increase choice and competition in the health insurance market. He believes that the public option is the best way to achieve these goals."

A third White House official, via e-mail, said that Sebelius didn't misspeak. "The media misplayed it," the third official said.


http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/08/administration_official_sebelius_misspoke.php

[red states rule]

and Howie Dean has spoken. This is going to get good if the Dems start a street fight within their own party


Dean: Public option a must for health care reform
(AP) – 1 hour ago

WASHINGTON — Former Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean is arguing that there can be no meaningful overhaul of the health care system without a public option for coverage.

A leading player in the party's liberal wing, Dean said in a nationally broadcast interview Monday he thinks providing a government role in insurance coverage is fair. He likened it to Medicare and the Veterans Administration, which he called "two very good programs."

Dean discussed the situation on NBC's "Today" show amid indications the Obama administration is backing away from its insistence on a public option in the face of vocal opposition. Referring to the public health option, the former Vermont governor said, "You can't really do health care reform without it."

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5irPOJsLck6oxp2-eAE8h9-xaJcZQD9A4JPDG1