Monday on The Ed Show Tom Harkin expressed pessism about the public option's chances:
SCHULTZ: But why do I sense a "yes" out of you? If it were to come to the floor, you would vote yes for the public option, would you not?
HARKIN: Ed, I'll tell you this straightforward. Not if it meant that it would sink the whole health care reform bill.
There's a lot of other stuff in there I care very deeply about -- getting rid of all of these pre-existing conditions, insurance rescinding these things, covering 30 million people, giving tax credits to low income so they can buy insurance, getting more competition out there. These are very important things to have for our country, and so I have to weigh all of that.
And if we have a bill sent to us from the House, a reconciliation bill that does not have the public option in there, then if we were to do that, if we were to add it here, that would sink the whole bill. And I don't want to sink this bill. I want to get this bill passed. I want it on Obama's desk and have him sign it.
SCHULTZ: Yes. We all do, Senator. But if it were just a single issue and a single reconciliation attempt at a public option, you would vote for that, wouldn't you?
HARKIN: Ed, not if it doomed the entire bill.
Meanwhile, Tuesday on Countdown Kent Conrad left the door cracked open:
LAWRENCE O'DONNELL: Senator Conrad, I want to start by asking you about the public option. It's now up to 34 senators supporting it. Is that something you could support if it was included in the reconciliation bill?
SEN. KENT CONRAD (D-ND), SENATE BUDGET CMTE. CHAIRMAN: It would depend entirely how it's constructed. And, you know, I wouldn't sign a blank check for any provision. I'd want to know the details.
So Tom Harkin is now a big public option pessimist, and Kent Conrad has cracked the door open. Obviously, Harkin didn't completely rule the public option out, nor did Kent Conrad deliver a ringing endorsement of it. And Harkin also still says he supports the public option, whereas Conrad is equivocal at best. Still, compare what they are now saying is possible to what they were saying was possible just a few months ago:
It's an interesting shift in tone -- from both of them.