Reply #48: You are standing on your head to differentiate Howard Dean's

[karynnj]

public option from the likely public option in the bill. The fact is that you are comparing Dean's words with what Kennedy and Dodd could get through a committee. As Governor of VT, Dean did what had to be done by the state's constitution - balance the budget, by cutting money to healthcare. If he were a Senator don't you think he would do as other Senators wanting to improve healthcare are doing - finding the best passable bill?

If President, Governor Dean, like President Obama, would not push for something doomed to fail, but would work within the system to get the best changes possible. I am very convinced that when we look back - say 10 years from now, if a bill like the Kennedy bill emerges, it will seem a major accomplishment. Consider that SCHIP is now seen - not as a limited program, but as the program that has insured millions of kids over the last decade. Would you have criticized Kennedy for modifying the previous year's Kerry/Kennedy bill which used the same funding mechanism, but created an entitlement national program to create SCHIP? Or, would you have objected that it was unless because it was not single payer and not for everyone?