Reply #105: I think the conundrum lies in the fact that....

[AusDem]

Obama promised change, yes. but that means so many different things to everyone.

He did also say that he wanted to change the way "the game" is played in Washington. Less partisanship, you know the whole bit about "not a president for a blue america, etc, etc"

so maybe he's trying to see that promise through as well, ie wanting to be a president for the 46% of people that voted for the other guy (and *shudder* gal). Of course, a large subset of that 46% is giving him nothing but hatred and vitriol in return, but he's still trying, and today he put them in their place.

Its sad that the line that he had to draw was "I will not negotiate with you if you lie about my proposal", but at least it was a forceful line, with plenty of dotted lines that, while they didn't go close to a strong public option, are still somewhat meaningful in the sense of a reform.

Agree with you however that OP's attitude is mucho grating, but hey, whatever floats your boat i guess.