I don't know the answer to this question but the MSM would have me believe the answer is in the affirmative. If so, this is quite disheartening and I add it to the list of my disappointments with the Obama administration.
A recent DK diary poll regarding Bill Maher's criticism of the Obama administration's apparent cave-ins on various issues showed that 53% felt the "Bill Maher gets it" but only 4% felt that the "Left is being left out." Maher on Obama: "Hoping for Audacity"
I wonder if that latter number is higher right now.
Today at DK there are a couple of diaries that caught my eye by authors with much greater command of the health care and other issues than I have and who, at the very least, imply that they have accepted the loss of the public option. One of them takes a fallback position on specific elements of a potential bill No Public Option Then NO Mandate. The other proposes a long term consciousness raising project.A Single Payer Education Project
Quite frankly, I have gotten so pissed off at the Obama administration that I've thought way more than once "fukkemiwillneverdothisagain." I've seen similar sentiments expressed on this site.
On the other hand, maybe because I have been more or less politically aware since before Reagan became governor of my state, I both deplore American backwardness and also feel that the tide is turning in our favor, just more slowly than I had hoped.