It’s easy to read too deeply into exchanges between the President’s press secretary and the White House press corps. But in light of last night’s confirmation that the Senate Finance Committee will eschew a public option in favor of privately held, non-profit co-ops, this clip seems worthwhile.
We’ll see if Gibbs has a straighter answer today. Several days ago, Obama appeared to say, in no uncertain terms, that any health care bill he signs would need to include a public option. Now Gibbs is saying Obama’s team is at least considering a co-op model.
As more details emerge, it’s worth keeping in mind that as far as the Finance Committee’s negotiations are concerned, a “co-op” is a very fuzzy concept. As with a public option, a co-operative can be strong or weak or in between. Earlier in negotiations, the public option’s point man, Chuck Schumer, suggested he could endorse a robust co-op model, but that committee Republicans were only willing to accept something much weaker.
