tsdek;

My sense is that your ideal health care package and mine are similar or identical. Our difference is in our understanding of real politics. If you can show Senator Feingold, a single payer advocate, how he can get a bill passed to his liking in this atmosphere, or even in ten years -- you are a political genius and should be advising Obama. Feingold will vote for what he can get even though he shares your passion.

"Campaign contributions from health lobbyists" are a large but certainly not a complete explanation for the inevitable watering down of legislation. In the first place, Obama could not care less about these contributions given his campaign financing structure --so they don't explain the president's behavior.

Second, the reactionary interest groups in this country will remain in the driver's seat so long as the left holds out for perfection. Let's say Pelosi puts up a single payer refrom bill for a vote and refuses to compromise -- it goes down in flames immediately. What next? We're back to Obama's proposal which creates the need for Blue Dogs to flex their muscles, as they are now doing, to look god back at home.

My guess is that the final package is going to look something like the Kennedy/Obama plan with slight compromises for the Blue Dogs. As much as these conservatives don't want to be "not re-elected" as you point out, they also don't want to be challenged in the primaries from the left. If they are indeed successful in stoppinghealth care reform -- they will be tossed in the Democratic primaries. If that happens -- guess what? -- we lose Congress again. Try to get any reform passed under that scenario,

You wonder if you simply have "different priorities" than mine. Well, that depends on whether you consider the difference between George W. Bush and Barack Obama as significant. The historical way to express discontent with both parties is to start a third party -- such as the Green Party. The Greens are admirable and may do some good around the edges and influence future debates. I'm all for them being in existence.

But my priority (and the reason I am a Democrat) is to do the most we can now -- and hope that the future provides opportunities for even more progressive steps. The option is to moan about how the program is just a "band-aid" and is not comparable to the European model. Bravo! But you tell me how we are going to get there without waiting another fifty years?

If you look the reality of politics and not just at its evils, you would know that Rahm Emmanuel is going to deliver the best bill that can be delivered this year. If we wait until next year, the bill will just get weaker. Real Politics.

JOHN