Pelosi: 'There Is Strong Support In The House For A Public Option'

Why is it that Democratic women have bigger ones than the men?

I disagree. Obama is a realist. The Senate is not a democratic body. Sure, we have 60 seats, but a number of those seats are held by folks like Blanche Lincoln, Joe Lieberman, Max Baucus, Ben Nelson, Bill Nelson, etc. These are not folks that are liberal because (usually) to win a rural state's Senate seat, you have to be somewhat moderate (states like Montana, where both Senators are Democrats, overwhelmingly supported the GOP in the last national election).

Again, Obama's a realist. Until the people in North Dakota and in Montana and Missouri and elsewhere demand a public option, it's not going to happen. Besides, a public option only helps so much. If the option is structured correctly, it could really bring down costs. But, my hunch is that guys like Baucus and Lieberman will make the option essentially available only to those without insurance (or those small employers which cannot insure their employees in the current market). This will kill its benefits because unless you have true competition, you have no reform.

The cooperatives, on the other hand, could work if they're structured right. Everyone has to purchase; every employee gets an allowance to use with the cooperative or through the employer's plan, the cooperatives are national in scope, no more banning pre-existing conditions; cap on out-of-pocket, etc.

So narrowing the issue to public option vs not-public option is tempting, but until we know what comes out of the Senate bill, we should not assume the worst.