President Obama has released another statement indicating his support for the inclusion of a public plan in healthcare reform. The statement comes after a new round of rumors portray him as unsupportive of a public plan option.
Last week, a coalition of liberal groups sent a letter to the White House demanding that President Obama lobby strongly for the public plan option. The difference between "lobby" and "support" probably means a lot in this context.
Although Obama has stated his support for the public plan, some liberals believe that he is not exercising the leadership needed to make inclusion of the plan in legislation a reality. Also, NPR's Tavis Smiley says that Senator Charles Schumer told him off-the-air that Obama was "noncommittal" on the public plan in a closed-door meeting with Senators last week.
Supporting the public plan does not mean fighting for it. So, perhaps the liberal groups were correct to demand more than Obama's support.
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