Sheer stupidity:
Is this really the way the White House wants to wade into the health care reform debate?
"It’s so important to get a deal," a White House official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to be candid about strategy. "He will do almost anything it takes to get one."
I'll give you anything you want, now let's sit down and negotiate?
The only question is whether this is stated administration policy, or the work of somebody inside the administration trying to undermine progressives inside the administration. That's always a possibility. After all the same article contained this passage:
So far, the administration’s ideas of concessions are likely to fall far short of the fundamental changes that Congressional Republicans seek.
For now, White House officials said, Mr. Obama remains committed to the goal of insuring all Americans and still prefers to foster competition for insurance companies by creating a new government insurance program, or public option.
White House officials are combing the versions of health care legislation approved by four of the five Congressional committees with jurisdiction on the issue, both to find common ground and to jettison provisions — some relatively minor — that have drawn fire from critics on the political right.
So now the question is: was the quote on negotiations a signal that the White House is prepared to abandon its progressive goals, or was it a quote from somebody representing a faction within the administration trying to weaken the White House's negotiating posture?
It's kind of sick that we're probably hoping for the latter.