Seeing the Light

By Dave

Hallelujah! Finally coming around, Howard Dean tells Rachel Maddow that he no longer wants to kill the bill:

“Honestly, to see the Republicans up there carrying on the way they are, I basically concluded that maybe we should pass this thing … If the Republicans hate it, there must be some good to it.”

Dean says he changed his mind because the bill has improved in the last week. Dean's always been a hothead, so this is hard for me to read. A public option wasn't added, which is what he said he wanted, so what changed this week? Well, Reid's Manager Amendment is the only thing I can think of. And while this made some important changes, it seems more like fine-tuning to me. So was there a method to Dean's madness or did he simply come off too strong against the bill without thinking? My guess is that it's the latter. Does anyone have a sense on this?

Anyways, in the end, I can't be too mad I'm only mildly upset, no harm was done. In fact, it might have given more leverage against conservative Dems, like Ben Nelson. Dr. Dean welcome back, I'm glad you've seen the light!