Can someone please explain to me why it is that the so-called 'public option' is ALREADY 'DOA'? Without getting too deep into the weeds of polls, it seems fair to say that a clear majority of the overall public supports it, and I see in here today that even a plurality of REPUBLICANS support it. ANYTHING that is continuing to sustain this level broad of public sympathy after months of orchestrated sniping at it,  is something we would expect to pass Congress easily. Why is this so different?

Are we just DUMB? Do a relative handful of self-professed experts, pundits, commentators, Senators, and House Members know everything worth knowing on this issue, while we out here in the broad public can't  be expected to contribute anything useful? I'm trying to think of a recent issue where public sentiment seemed so out of tune with  orthodox conventional wisdom as expressed in the overall commentariat, and I'm having trouble coming up with one.

Is it just possible that the public (while not very smart) is somehow just barely smart enough to KNOW that real reform really IS required, starting NOW? Is is just possible that the public (while not very smart) is barely smart enough to know that REAL reform is NEVER going to take place as long as you're trying to achieve it without getting any private special entity, anywhere, UPSET?  Is it just possible that the public (while not very smart) is barely smart enough to realize that there are some problems that are simply too BIG for the private sector to solve on its own?  That some problems require the united, democratic power of the Federal Government to grab hold, and lead us toward something better?

I don't know about you, but I (and apparently many others) think a public option is a modest but highly critical element of getting that engagement started. I honestly cannot understand why it is so easily dismissed, when so many everyday people seem to favor it..