"Put Down The Public Option, And Step Away From The Presidency"

Yesterday, the White House signaled that President Obama was willing to accept a Health Care bill that had no 'Public Option'. The House Progressive caucus, joined by Speaker Pelosi, has said that the House will not pass a bill without that component. Would the President really risk losing 86 votes in the House just to get (a promised) one in the Senate? Rumored grumblings seem to indicate that Progressives would view this as base treachery on the part of the President, and they might go shopping for a different candidate in 2012. Republicans would certainly view it as a victory for 'Tantrum Politics'. Watch the discussion by Keith Olbermann and Eugene Robinson on The Huffington Post.

Well, it hasn't happened, yet. So I won't condemn him. During the election, there were many times that I really disagreed with then-Senator Obama, and he repeatedly proved that he's a brilliant politician. But the bigger problem is that a politician, first and foremost, wants to remain a politician. That should mean pleasing the greatest number of people. But the reality in American politics is that it means pleasing the right people, and lately, that's meant pleasing the Right. I could have sworn he promised something different. I guess we'll see when he addresses Congress next week.