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I’m glad to see that the President is providing some long awaited leadership on health care.  I have been asking him for months to talk directly to Americans about what he believes we need out of health care reform.

The good news is that the President’s plan improves the weak Senate bill.  But I am concerned that it embraces a state-by-state exchange system rather than a national one.  And it walks away from the public option, which we know is essential to genuine cost containment.

Let’s be honest: Republican support will never materialize.  They are the Party of No and have stood clearly on the side of big insurance companies from the beginning of this process—without once offering a single constructive proposal that would lower costs and improve the quality of care for everyone.

We need to stop bargaining against ourselves and aim for a plan that can get 51 votes, not 60.  Worrying about Olympia Snowe, Joseph Lieberman and Ben Nelson didn’t get us anywhere.  I think the President’s approach is a step in the right direction.

Anthony