Compromise

There's talk of compromise on the public option that might actually work to bring conservative democrats and progressives together -- and could even bring in a few Republicans, if they can get over their knee-jerk, just-say-no stance.

The plan: have a public option plan on a national scale -- which gives progressives what they want -- but have it be something that individual states can opt-out of. Apparently, like Medicaid, the plan would be administered through state agencies, so any state that didn't want to participate could opt out.

The advantage, as I see it, is that instead of a watered down co-op, which we know doesn't work, those states that participate will provide a solid proving ground for how well this could work.

And at the same time, no one can say that big government is shoving it down people's throats; so it somewhat undermines conservatives' opposition. It seems less like something they can demonize as "socialism."

If this flies, it could be the silver bullet that gets this whole thing moving toward Obama's desk for a signature.

Ralph