It seems that Harry may have recovered from the spine flu. As of now, he's defying the white house and going ahead with the Public Option Opt-Out plan in the Senate:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
"He's knows what he's doing is a gamble," Reid spokesman Jim Manley said. "But more and more, he's convinced it's the right thing to do."
Maybe Harry's recovered from his spine flu? I guess we'll know on Monday when he makes his final decision. More on the flip...
Let's hope he knows what he's doing. He's never had to lead before today. I actually think that his loss on the Doctor Fix pushed him towards this decision. The GOP lied to him about the votes to make him look bad It's clear that even Ms. Snowe cannot be trusted to act in good faith in the end. I'm glad he's doing the right thing, but it's still scary as heck. He's never, ever had to make tough leadership decisions before.
Back in 2007, the Cleveland Indians were facing the Yankees in a critical game 3 of the best of five Division Series. The pitcher next up in the rotation was Paul Byrd. Indians fans were horrified. Paul Byrd had a 6.00 Earned Run Average during the regular season, and had an ERA closer to 10.00 against the Yankees. This seemed like a horrible pick! In addition, being an old junkball pitcher, his style was to, "Let the batter put the ball into play." Letting Yankee batters put the ball into play generally results in VERY bad things... Most Tribe fans presumed that this would be a horrible loss, but a bunch of MLB players said that Byrd was the best guy for the job 'cos he knew how to pitch under pressure.
Byrd won.. convincingly...
Can Harry Reid be another Paul Byrd? Time will tell! If he does manage to pull this off, I think we need to really have his back, donate, and pull out all the stops at Netroots Nation in Vegas next year... If he can make it happen when it is most likely to count right now, then he will be much stronger in the months ahead as well.
Godspeed Harry Reid! (I never thought I'd ever say that!)
UPDATE: Holy cow, I made the rec list! Wow! Thanks!:-) It's my second time, and was totally unexpected this late at night! Listen, I want to state that I'm an "Obamabot" too, and I really like the president and support him strongly. I will continue to support him, even if the public option fails. I am loyal and understand his reticence. After all, it's Harry Reid he's got to count on! I know he's scared about the health reform bill failing, but we've got a chance to fulfill his campaign promise, we should go for the best bill possible. After August, Obama lost interest in the public option. At the time, it was questionable if ANY health care reform bill would pass at all. I understand that he got burned and doesn't want to take a risk, but if we can get a stronger bill, we need to go for it! Senators Brown, Harkin, and Rockefeller have been practically BEGGING Obama to push some wavering Senators over the line on the public option (and other stuff), and he simply seems to have no interest to do so. He promised Rockefeller more subsidies, but no public option. Maybe he was going to do it in conference, I don't know, but all indications are that he wants the easiest path. I empathise, but we've fought too hard for too long to give up now! C'mon Mr. President! Get onboard again! We need you! We're here to make it work for you! Just give the word!
UPDATE 2: I'm sorry, but this is the weakest non-denial I've ever heard:
"The report is false. The White House continues to work with the Senate on the merging of the two bills," said Dan Pfeiffer, a top White House aide whose portfolio includes health care. "We are making good progress toward enacting comprehensive health reform."
I'm sorry, but this says absolutely nothing... The "report is false" Yeah? What does that mean? What is false? The explanation says nothing... just political jibberish. I do believe that Obama would like a public option in his bill, but will he put the effort to get it in there? So far, all the evidence points to "maybe". We shall see!