Obama Recommits to Public Option

Only hours after Rahm Emanuel suggested that a public option was a negotiable part of the White House's health care plan, President Obama released a statement from Russia recommitting the administration to that path. The statement read, "I am pleased by the progress we're making on health care reform and still believe, as I've said before, that one of the best ways to bring down costs, provide more choices, and assure quality is a public option that will force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest." The disagreement marks the tensions between different figures in the White House as to the proper course for the legislation, a source tells the Huffington Post--and Emanuel has been pushing for the compromise for months. "I think it's more of a 'progressive groups don't freak the f*** out' statement," a health care strategist told the site.