This is an indicator that we may be getting a Public Option after all, though it may be at the cost of an Opt-Out compromise.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/10... For weeks now, Greg Sargent has been making the point that, though polling shows the public wants health care reform to be bipartisan, what it really shows is that people think bipartisanship is nice, they'd happily scotch it if that's what it takes to secure a public option.
That doesn't exactly square with the pronouncements of some conservative Democrats--particularly Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)--who say bipartisanship is a crucial part of health care reform's legitimacy with the public. I caught up with Nelson earlier today and asked him to speak to the poll's findings.
"Well, there are different kinds of public options.... What was interesting in the poll numbers that I saw, that while there's support for public option generally, generically, when you start talking about it specifically as it relates to states being able to opt out or opt in, have their own, the support overwhelmingly goes up to 76 percent."
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If even Ben Nelson admits the PO has overwhelming support (at 57%) that's a pretty big admission from someone who has been against the PO. The fact that he is talking this way is a good indicator for the final bill, though I do not like the opt-out compromise.
