Howard Dean is a Doctor. He knows better. God bless him for speaking out.

He is also willing to make admissions contrary to interest.

Wow.

I’m not so impressed.

If Senators Lincoln, Landrieu, Nelson and Lieberman all cave and the Senate passes a bill containing a public option, then, in the end, it’s all going to come down to whether enough Blue Dogs in the House will be able to withstand the pressure on them to go along. Dean wants that public option as the first step toward single-payer, as does Obama himself, as does Pelosi, et al. So, they will insist on the final compromise coming out of conference containing a public option, and only a courageous stand from Blue Dogs will prevent its passage. Alternatively, if the pro-life Dems behind Rep. Stupak maintain their cohesion, the bill could fail because of their opposition. But the pressure against every “no” voter will be ginormous.

I don’t know, trespinos. Landrieu’s already proven herself to be a top-drawer political whore. But Lincoln’s got a reelection fight coming up and if she hears enough hell from enough Arkansans over the break, she may prove extremely reluctant to take one for the team. Lieberman’s not going to bail and Ben Nelson’s a Democratic senator from one of the reddest of the red states. So this is not a done deal by any stretch of the imagination.

The longer this takes, the less likely it happens.

Did anyone read the comments below the linked article?

Someone named John G nailed it

This is a ruse. Dean knows that any healthcare reform bill that passes Congress spells a miserable November 2010 for Democrats. Given that some (read any) bill will pass, the left-wing, Dean contingent of the party will claim that the party lost seats because the reform “wasn’t progressive enough” and “not the change people voted for”.

I think there’s a lot of truth in that observation.

I don’t believe any of them any more. They are all out for themselves and screw the American people. Not one of these narcissists give a rosy red about the Constitution, about the freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, or any of the things that made this country great.

They are just out for themselves and that is it. I have had it with all of them!