barack-obama.thumbnail.jpgPart the First: The yo-yo:

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.

That’s right. Every DC political reporter with a pulse — and a few that are questionable — just happened to wake up on the same day and hallucinate that the White House was leaking like a sieve that the public option was dead.

Up, down. Up, down. Kathleen Sebelius says it’s not important! No she didn’t! Eventually, everyone is exhausted and you try to pass it all off as "old news."

Good luck with that one.

Part the Second: The Plea for Republican Love:

To avoid some of the most heated criticism voiced in recent weeks, White House officials said they would have no objection if Congress scrapped proposals to have Medicare pay for counseling on end-of-life care.

Face it Mr. President, they’re just not that into you.

Part the Third: Launch the backup trial balloon:

If Mr. Obama does not gain traction by making these concessions, his allies on Capitol Hill said, they may have to consider bigger changes. For example, they said, rather than requiring all Americans to carry health insurance, Congress might start by requiring coverage of children, or families with children.

Translation: if the lipstick just won’t stay on this pig and everyone freaks out over a mandate to pay Blue Cross for crap insurance, we have to pass SOMETHING, and what sells better than cute kids?

I am really looking forward to this Senate Finance Committee bill, aren’t you? It is just guaranteed to be a dilly.

(With appropriate credit to Mr. Charles P. Pierce, who in addition to having written quite possibly the most trenchant sociological examinations of our time, has agreed to judge a Late Nite "Write Like Ross Douthat" contest at FDL. Though he is not certain that "hasn’t been laid for a decade" constitutes an actual writing style.)