Scaled down incremental may be the only way open in the short run. If Democrats introduce and pass some constructive reforms now while avoiding significant corporate give aways, they may get some slack from me on that issue. Admiration or respect? No, but a little slack perhaps. Obama almost certainly won't be able to get the Senate Bill through the House as is now because liberals and Unions are (justifiably) unhappy with too many of its provisions, and some conservative Dems likely want to run to the hills away from any Health Care Reform right about now anyway. Some Senate Dems like Webb have already signaled that they won't go along with rushing a new version through the Senate before Brown gets seated, so that isn't really an option either. And I don't think the trust is there for the White House to convince the House to pass the current Senate legislation with an understanding that the administration will fight for and win significant later improvements through reconciliation. One reason for skepticism is the length of time such an approach would take, even if the political will was there to attempt it.

Any reconciliation effort that failed to include a real Public Option in it would infuriate people like me, and there would be a lot of us. Republicans would use every stalling tactic in the book to stop that from going through. Democrats feel a need to make job creation front and center now as their primary political focus before the 2010 campaigns really ramp up, not some more months spent (in their eyes "wasted") arguing about health care reform.

I am not describing my ideal political strategy for Democrats now. I would urge them to throw caution to the wind and come down hard in favor of fighting for a massive expansion of Medicare right now using reconciliation in the Senate. I think they would do better in the Fall elections if they went that route than any other one I can imagine. And if pigs could fly...