The major flaw with this is that insurance companies should not be brought to the negotiation table. They should be placed upon the embalming table.

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
"Mr. Obama until now had charted a different course, setting forth broad principles and concentrating on bringing disparate factions — doctors, insurers, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, labor unions — to the negotiating table." - Sheryl Gay Gtolberg, NY Times

Did anyone else notice that recipients of medical care and those that are left on the outside by the current system don't have seats at the table?

We ordinary people will just get the scraps left over when the big boys are finished cutting their deals.

olympia snow appears to be spearheading the betrayal that seems to be the corporate world's latest offensive to stop real healthcare.

she is said to have garnered interest and/or even support from some dems who need a place to hide their spinelessness.

don't let 'em. find out wassup with your senators and congresscritters, and keep herding them toward the summer pastures of genuine healthcare.

Whether the reform is as good as it can be will depend largely on the president's leadership...

It's unlikely to be "as good as it can be" in any case, but the "reform" currently moving through Congress, with its triggers and lack of a public option, is likely to end up being worse than what we have now.

Go over to TPM and read Robert Reich's article on how Congress - under the leadership of Max Baucus and Olympia snowe - are about to sell out real health care reform to Big Pharma and Big Insurance.

If Obama doesn't take these two and the rest of the sellouts to the woodshed and "whup 'em upside the head good" nothing will happen. These scum have been selling out the people for their corporate campaign cash since they were first elected. Anyone who thinks Olympia Snowe is some sort of "good person" probably believes the sun rises in the west.

While I prefer a single payer system, I will accept 'reform' if there is a real public option.

If there is not, I will consider it a betrayal by Obama and the dumbocraps. If there is not, I will consider it a sellout to the insurance companies by Obama and the dumbocraps.

As long as Evan Bayh's wife is being paid $350,000 a year to be on the board of directors of Wellpoint (health insurance giant corporation), I will not trust the dumbs until something meaningful is signed by Obama.

SadOldVet: and exactly WHAT gives you any reason to expect anything less than a betrayal by Obama and the "dumbocraps"? So far, Obama is turning out to be the biggest bait and switch in history. He talks a good game, but look at who is -- and ISN'T -- at the table in his administration. Look at military commissions, the torture photos, FISA. Why should we expect anything different for health care?

to borrow an Aaron Sorkin line, to take his approval rating out for a spin to see what it can do.

OT: how much of the liberal blogosphere can trace their political interest to The West Wing? How many ask themselves "What would President Bartlet do?"

Those of us inspired by say, Nixon, would seem to have a totally different outlook.

The President MUST be willing to veto any legislation that refuses to include a REAL government option. Big Pharma & the Insurance industry are supplying the $$$$$$$ to kill a real government option.
After 8 Bush years of NO health care reform, the President must accept only REAL reform.
Mr. President, you & Congress must represent our best interests....NOT the Big $$$$$$$$, high profit players in our misguided heath care system !

"Whether the reform is as good as it can be will depend largely on the president's leadership"

The president's leadership has already assured that the reform will not be as good as it could and should be.

Ironically, it's not the people Obama needs to convince but obstructionist dems in his party. Nor is it the success or cost of a public plan but an end to the profiteering of priv. ins. at the expense of health care coverage.

Bluntly, Obama must put an end to the bribery of congress because the issue is too important and too broken to allow to continue in the hands of the greedy few.

Ironically, it's not the people Obama needs to convince but obstructionist dems in his party. --bjobotts, @14:47

Both, actually. What he needs to do is get the people *so* fired up, that they'll bombard the Cngresscritters into submission. The Congresscritters will resist Obama if they think that, if they're with him they lose their campaign money from the big guys but, if they're against him, they risk nothing. It's the population's loud voices that are needed to convince the legislators that no amount of campaign money is going to buy them enough individual votes.

We saw a wee bit of that public backlash against Baucus last week and it seemed to have worked, if not yet as well as we might want. But those baying townhalls need to be replicated across the country. Every time there's a petition, sign it. Every time there's a townhall near you, go. Give Obama the ammunition with which to target the legislators.

He's got to name it something other than the "public option," something feel-good and impossible for Republicans and drug companies and insurance companies to get in the way of. Use their own language against them: "Competitive Choice" or "Market Freedom" option. Some crap like that.