Chamber of Commerce losing battles against Obama

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/22/obama-health-care-plan-dr_n_471320.html

Despite the http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/17/dianne-feinstein-signs-on_n_466435.html">recent surge of support in the Senate for a government-run health insurance option, President Obama chose not to include one of the most popular elements of reform in the plan he is presenting to a bipartisan group of lawmakers Thursday.

The Obama plan explicitly bridges the differences between Senate and House legislation on issues both large and small, but on the public option -- which is included in the House bill, but not in the Senate's -- Obama is entirely silent

snip

Since then, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he would work with his colleagues to find the votes needed for it; Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the third ranking Democrat, pushed for it to be included; and Sen. Bob Menendez (N.J.), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, joined in the call as well.

But neither that nor the public option's consistently strong appeal in public-opinion polls was enough to persuade Obama to get behind it.

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/health-care/congresssional-dems-begin-pinning-blame-for-health-care-failure-squarely-on-obama/

Congressional Dems Start Pinning Blame For Health Care Fiasco On Obama

Little by little, Congressional Dems are beginning to pin the lion’s share of the blame for the badly weakened health care bill on a single figure: President Obama.

Here’s Russ Feingold, for instance, making http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/72375-lieberman-expresses-regret-to-colleagues-over-healthcare-tension-">a striking accusation: Obama may be more to blame than Joe Lieberman for the current state of play…

“This bill appears to be legislation that the president wanted in the first place, so I don’t think focusing it on Lieberman really hits the truth,” said Feingold.

While Feingold and others have repeatedly called on Obama to use the bully pulpit more aggressively on health care, they’ve refrained from implying that Obama wants a bill without the key liberal provisions he claimed to be seeking, as Feingold does here.

Meanwhile, here’s Anthony Weiner, making the http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/health-care/congresssional-dems-begin-pinning-blame-for-health-care-failure-squarely-on-obama/Read%20more:%20http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2009/12/time-to-spank-some-democrats.html#ixzz0ZrjsCsgm%3Cbr%20/%3E">surprisingly aggressive accusation that Obama’s lackluster leadership is to blame for letting the process get hijacked by Lieberman et al:

“Snowe? Stupak? Lieberman? Who left these people in charge? It’s time for the President to get his hands dirty. Some of us have compromised our compromised compromise. We need the President to stand up for the values our party shares. We must stop letting the tail wag the dog of this debate.”