Health care reform: Privately, Barack Obama strongly backs public option

Source: Chicago Tribune

WASHINGTON - -- Despite months of seeming ambivalence about creating a government health insurance plan, the Obama White House has launched an intensifying behind-the-scenes campaign to get divided Senate Democrats to take up some version of the idea in the weeks just ahead.

President Barack Obama has long advocated a so-called public option, while at the same time repeatedly expressing openness to other ways to offer consumers a potentially more affordable alternative to health plans sold by private insurers.

But now, senior administration officials are holding private meetings almost daily at the Capitol with senior Democratic staff to discuss ways to include a version of the public plan in the health care bill that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., plans to bring to the Senate floor later this month, according to senior Democratic congressional aides.

......
When Obama spoke by phone recently with Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., he made a point of the breadth of support for the public option, the senator said in an interview. Cantwell authored a proposal to let states set up public plans that Democrats added to the Senate Finance Committee bill on Wednesday. And when Pennsylvania Democrats came to the White House recently to celebrate the Pittsburgh Penguins' Stanley Cup win, Obama pulled some of them aside and reiterated his commitment to the public option even as Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, was preparing a bill without one.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-tc-nw-healthcare-obama-1003-oct04,0,1969667.story?page=1

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The White House is seriously engaged on trying to get a public option. Note they are working behind the scenes (out of the public eye) to try to get something done. So they have a strategy in place. Let's hope they succeed.

He speaks softly. Now, it is time for him to carry a big stick.

as if someone who wouldn't like it won't find out?

or is this propagated just to try to mollify the rest of us?

The article goes on to describe how the WH is reaching out to push the public option.

And Obama mentions his support for in every speech I've heard.

How is that private?

ANYONE can choose it over a private plan

IMHO, there is a reason all the trained physically able men are currently occupied overseas getting shot at by those who pose no threat to us. If they were here seeing their parents, neighbors, and loved ones die without medical care and their homes being taken by the banks...they very well might be in the street with pitchforks and torches.


We have no effective representation in the federal government. Apparently with the exception of a few progs in the House, they have all been bought and paid for. Recent news about the actual state of our economy cannot be so easily swept under the rug, however. We can no longer afford to keep our armies abroad while our children starve at home.

Remember the immortal words of H. S. Thompson....big darkness soon come.

good morning

the versions of the public option that are being discussed are good ones. For all the criticism of Obama over this, couldn't the reality be that he is very much in favor of a strong public option, and he is trying to get something as close to what he favors as possible, recognizing that he doesn't have the votes to get exactly what he wants?

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Lack of political courage is the only explanation, IMO.

The public remarks he made in mid-Sept seemed to come up short of support. He said he strongly believes it is the best thing for consumers, it isn't clear to me that he has said that reform in healthcare funding should favor consumers.

Indeed his remarks on Saturday seemed to honor the gang of six for their efforts to produce a bill that would hand over billions to the insurance companies

public option!!

Oh, yeah, that whole 3D Jedi master knight thingy. Whatever, it has become glaringly obvious that Obama doesn't have the experience to push his agenda through. And while he may privately support the public option, back here in the real world the public option is about to die. He needs to stop this whole subtle, Jedi master, stealth leadership thing, learn something from LBJ and come out knocking some Congressional heads around, starting first with some blue heads in his own party.

put his foot down, saying he's had it with the greedy people and will implement real change.

Just one possibility of many; I have no clue.

Although I have to admit I have no idea what is being said in private by the President, I do know that threats and promises are probably best done in private. Do we really want the news headlines to be Obama threatening to stop pet projects or vice versa. I dont know, as I said, how forcefully President Obama is coming out in these sessions or how strong a public option he is advocating but I don't see anything sinister in him working behind the glare of the media to get these recalcitrants on board.

that but it is worth repeating. What comes to his desk is what counts.
And that is a long way off.

after that, treats are brought in, and a required honest discussion on the film would be held.
The public could watch the reactions, and maybe call in questions. IT would be interesting to hear what they say about the guy who had to decide about which finger to attach back, or some of the other sad aspects of that film. The asshole Republicans and blue dogs can be forced to comment. I wonder what they would say?

that he would be very out spoken about getting government run single payer, universal health care the law of the land.
Instead all we have gotten so far from our congress critters are some crumbs of a promise of some kind of health insurance reform that might NOT help the insurance companies.

society. One would think he wouldn't appoint people like Larry Summers and Tim Geithner.

This is one of the reasons I voted for him. I (perhaps wrongly) had faith that anyone who watched a family member get the runaround from an insurance company, couldn't possibly allow that system to continue.

Who is putting him in the position to where HE has to beg THEM to throw us "some version" of the public option? He can't twist any arms or give any speeches committing to a FULL public option?

He's acting helpless here, and we should know better.

Sounds like he backs the public option about as much as he backs gay equality.

The man is useless.