As Harry Reid works through all the negotiations to bring a health care bill to the Senate floor, it is encouraging to hear him say that he is leaning towards a public option. It makes me wonder why Obama seems to be dampening expectations. Those two tea leaves are hard to reconcile. It almost looks like the battle over a public option is won and only requires a last little push from the White House. Certainly, Nancy Pelosi seems to be on board.
Still, to understand the White House’s actions, you have to know whether or not they have 60 votes for cloture. If they don’t, then they are going to hold their cards close for a little longer. The way to persuade those last Senate holdouts is to get both Reid and Pelosi talking about a public option, and that is what is happening. It appears that the Obama administration will refuse to the end to empower their opponents by drawing a line in the sand. We will not be seeing an all-or-nothing gauntlet laid down from the Bully Pulpit. Rather, the last holdouts will be won over by CBO scores in the House and by quiet persuasion in the Senate. Ironically, it could be a small group of senators, including Russ Feingold, who scuttle the final deal. I’m worried about the budget deficit, too, but we need to keep things in perspective.
