This is ridiculous. Weiner, if you want a PO, DELIVER it to the President by getting the votes in the senate. Is the WH the only one that can influence the Senate? I'm sick and tired of all this talking.

Has anyone of these Dems in Congress who are on tv all the time challenging Obama, ever publicly challenged specific members of their party who are holding out on the PO? honestly I don't know if they have or haven't. Does anyone know?

Give him nothing if he insists on no PO. It's a trump card and it seems to be a good one.

If Obama will "do whatever it takes" to get a bill, remember what he said.

Make him do it.

The political strategy that is being employed is a bit dissonent. I have been biding my reaction thinking that the President is playing 3D Chess. The month of August was one big rope a dope. With Kennedy's illness/death a lot of energy was dissapated from the health insurance reform movement. If, it is true we are now being slowly informed there is a different kind of compromise. It seems 'we' are being played against the right. The more liberal wing of the body politic would hardly want to align ourselves with the defeat of a program that would embarrass and weaken the President.

Roger Simon from politico was on hardball yesterday he took a question from tweety about 'the left' scuttling the President's proposal. Simon wouldn't take the bait and said it isn't 'the left' it was the People Obama promised during the campaign. The public option was ONLY thing that would/could keep the insurance companies 'honest', such as it is.

I don't think the calculus of fear and racism that is cynically being successfully being manipulated by the corporate swill has been well factored by the administration. I have cut them a lot of slack since the disseminators of ANY information are owned by the republicans. I will wait for 'the speech'.
I will gladly be a roped dope if the President smacks down these jackals. If not the words of Frank Rich a couple of weeks ago that we were 'punked'

Here's a point to ponder. Yesterday, I stumbled on a piece in the Wall Street Journal; in less than nine months, "the Fed has bought roughly $740 billion in mortgage-backed securities and the debt of government backed mortgage agencies". The entirety of health care reform would cost $1,00 billion a year. So, Bernake, Obama & Guitner, the Dems and the Repubs have taken the health care reform money and spent it instead to cover the financial institutions' miscarriage of public responsibility. The 'fiscally responsible' Repubs & Blue Dogs went merrily along with the bailout, little if any blow back, peddled it as 'an emergency'.
Now, in the next couple of weeks, the bonuses for the CEOs and higher-ups in the financial industry - bonuses for getting money from the government to cover their misdeeds, not bonuses for adding to the wealth and well-being of the nation - will be announced by Obama's 'pay czar', and Obama will take the heat from Repubs, Blue Dogs and the public. The Dems will do nothing. And things will continue. Including no meaningful health care reform.
The $740 billion to bailout Wall Street is only a drop in the bucket , a small part of the debt Obama, the Dems, the Repubs and the Blue Dogs have presided over (mostly in silence and without the radio raves calling out the ignorant to 'protest').
Now, they're happily sacrificing health care reform in the name of 'budgetary constraint' and 'simply not doable'.
Bottomline, with the government we have today (Democratic or Republican), there are no decisions made with the best interest of the people in mind. Health care reform will simply be another give away, this time to the private health insurance industry. The 'details' to be determined in close door meetings with the industry lobby.
Next week, the government gives away health care reform. What we could have had health care for - $ 1,000 billion per year - we gave away to the financial industry in bailouts - $ 3,000 billion in a single year; the soon to be announced 'bonuses' for the financial industry - while a pittance - will simply rub salt in the wounds. (And speaking of wounds, the billions squandered to 'win' against 'stateless terrorists in Afghanistan can be added to the many insults to the American people's intelligence. Oh, yes, another Wall Street Journal piece noted that the administration's lauded 'mortgage relief program' just cant seem to get off the ground - having helped only a small fraction of the people it was intended to help. Adding to the difficulties, people cannot refinance because they're losing their jobs - guess they werent bailed out.)

No Congressman if Obama doesnt support the plan KILL THE FUCKING BILL

Single-payer should have been used as a bargaining chip. To compromise both is to trade our health, financial stability and our nation's solvency in exchange for votes.

The fact that Nancy-Ann DeParle and United Health Group are involved in “negotiating” reform is appalling. She made a living in the “for-profit” insurance industry as an adviser to investors. Sits on boards of for-profit firms that make billions from Medicare and Medicaid. United Health Group is the most egregious, corrupt and disgusting Insurance Company in the entire industry. This is a direct affront, and duplicitous act, against the very people who put him in office and gave him a majority to work with in Congress

United Health Group and Nancy-Ann DeParle will not recommend anything viable. Their "Asymmetric Analysis" is ludicrous and misleading at best. The Insurance Industry will protect its profit margin at all costs. They stand to make outrageous profits and by no means will they help lower the cost curve.

United Health Group and others will run successful non-profits, writing off billions in advertising, exorbitant salaries and lobbyists. We will be forced to subsidize the massive increase in their profits without "triggering" a government run public option for years, if ever. This will increase in % of GDP spent on health care, heavily subsidize the Insurance Industry; destroy our citizens’ financial stability and our nation’s solvency.

These Members of Congress, both Republicans and Blue Dogs, are more concerned about elections/re-election than our health and well being. They are complicit in lies and dis/misinformation in order to deceive the public for political gain that will compromise our health, financial stability, and our nation's solvency.

The fact that 45-53% believe all these lies is their responsibility and it is unconscionable. Members of Congress who lie, or constituents who believe and propagate those lies, must never be allowed to dominate.