Trying to figure out what Obama is willing to settle for has turned into health care Kremlinology. Was Sebelius signaling that the public option was optional? Was she misquoted or was the White House walking it back?

By caving in on end-of-life counseling and signaling that the public option is negotiable Obama would be:

1. Emboldening opponents who smell success and redouble their efforts

2. Depressing supporters aren't even sure what bill is going to be left
   
3. Giving low information voters the impression that maybe the critics were right about those provisions
   
4. Standing up and saying forcefully that the critics of EOL counseling are lying then jettisoning it days later. (That hardly projects strength and moral fiber...)

(more in the extended entry)