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I personally find the whole "capitulation" regarding the PO to be BS because, at least at the moment, Obama has continued to voice support for it and has stated that he wants it. It's true he hasn't waved his pen like Bill Clinton and said that he would refuse to sign any legislation that didn't include it (how did THAT turn out?), so I suppose his commitment could be called into question on those grounds. However, assuming that the corporate media whores are really telling *the truth* and Obama has really "caved" on the idea of the PO, the question I have is WHO he has "caved" to. A lot of the people whom maintain that he has "caved" already claim that he is caving to the Republicans. My personal opinion is that if he does eventually "cave" on the PO, it will NOT be the Republicans to whom he is "caving" but rather the Blue Dogs in our own party. Why? Because Obama is almost virtually guaranteed to receive NO Republican votes on ANY plan that comes out of a Democratic-controlled Congress. The answer to why this is case should be plainly self-evident but the Republicans are essentially irrelevant at this point but for the Blue Dogs. True, Obama is TRYING to get something bipartisan passed but the Republicans are clearly far more interested in defeating health care reform just to bloody him. Obama's not dumb, however. IMHO he knows this but he is trying to at least give the appearance of trying to reach out to the other side for right now. When push comes to shove, he has indicated that he will work around the Republicans to get something through in the end and I believe him. The REAL challenge that he is facing seems to be from members of his own party, the *celebrated* Blue Dogs like Baucus, Conrad, etc. whom are trying to prevent PO from being part of any legislation and are are trying to push their own alternatives like, in Conrad's case, the Co-ops. However, they seem to generally support health care reform and would be hard-pressed to vote against something in the end. So far, the Senate is where things are currently stymied and need to move forward. As another poster pointed out earlier today, what is most important right now is moving a bill out of the Senate, with or without a PO, and into conference committee where the real fight over the PO or anything else can begin. If, in the end, Obama gives up on the PO, I don't think that it will be because of the Republicans but rather the Blue Dogs IMHO. :shrug:
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