US Health Care - Public Option at 20% Probability and Other Obama Goofs

Rasmussen Markets has the public option trading at a 20% chance. Several months ago it was at 40%.

I'd do a link but their website is super slow.

I like the idea of prediction markets for social change!

Personally I think the Democrats should let the Republicans filibuster in the Senate. The majority leader can force them to actually stand up and read recipes (or other junk) for hours. If combined with an actual grassroots movement for health care reform, it could make the Republicans look pretty stupid. Obama should be barnstorming the country and holding massive rallies with tens or hundreds of thousands of people to push health care. He could do it (people would mobilize and come), win the public debate, and crush the town hall opposition stories, if he remembered his community organizing roots...

If he used his bully pulpit and organizing abilities, he could even make a single payer system a strong option.

In other Obama news, he continues to act as a militarist by escalating the war in Afghanistan. It looks like he might add as many troops to Afghanistan and he withdraws from Iraq. Even me, in my consistent Obama-skeptic views, didn't see this massive Afghanistan troop escalation coming!