According to Politico, some unnamed "administration officials" are spoiling for a fight with the Democratic Party's base over the public option:
On health care, Obama’s willingness to forgo the public option is sure to anger his party’s liberal base. But some administration officials welcome a showdown with liberal lawmakers if they argue they would rather have no health care law than an incremental one. The confrontation would allow Obama to show he is willing to stare down his own party to get things done.
"We have been saying all along that the most important part of this debate is not the public option, but rather ensuring choice and competition," an aide said. "There are lots of different ways to get there."
The thing they need to be careful of is that when you triangulate, you don't want to do it with the least popular position of all -- individual mandates without a serious cost-control mechanism. And you especially don't want to do it when that position is the exact opposite -- on both counts -- of your position during a campaign that you won by a wide margin.
Join the discussion in icebergslim's diary, "Will Obama kick us to the curb?".