Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) is one of the Senate’s strongest advocate of the public option. He talked to the White House yesterday and told them exactly what he thinks the President needs to do next Wednesday.
In the two days since Obama announced that he’d be giving a major health care speech on Wednesday, progressives and public-option supporters have filled the vacuum to pressure Obama to make the public option a major flank of that speech. By comparison, conservative Democrats have been relatively quiet–which may be good news for progressives, or it may be a sign that public option skeptics believe the President’s on their side.