A short time later, he was on the air with talk host Michael Smerconish and “guaranteed” health care reform:

I have no control over what the other side decides to use as a political strategy. All I can tell you is that we’ll get this done, one way or the other.

Contrary to popular wisdom, the president has been extraordinarily consistent on this point. He asked Congress to deliver a bill that would do three things : (1) Reduce costs (2) Guarantee choice (3) Ensure quality care for every American. So far, he has a house bill (H.R. 3200) that does all this this with a public option, and in the Senate…he has the Gang of Six. Here’s John Kyl on Faux Noise:

“The president … believes we should have choice and competition for people entering the private insurance market, in order to hold down costs and provide quality of the coverage, we have to have choice and competition,” Gibbs said. “The president’s preferred way is a public option. If there are others that have additional viewpoints or other ideas in policy… we are ready to hear it.” (Emphasis mine)

Aha, say the Oh Noes. See, his support for the public option is soft! But wait a minute, here’s Robert Gibbs on Wednesday :

But here’s what the Oh Noes might not understand: eighty percent of Americans have health insurance. For those people, a public option is largely irrelevant. At yesterday’s DFA town hall, Obama explained that the overwhelming majority of choices in the insurance exchange system will be still be private insurance options. The public option, he said, can help keep insurers honest through competition, but it is clearly just one option of many.

The progressive blogosphere has been full of oh noes for weeks now:etc. Democrats’ approval of their party has plummeted in the face of conflicting messages. Sunday, it was Kathleen Sebelius saying the public option isn’t “the essential element” of reform.

Obama is selling out, he’s going to give up the public option,

to which the industry has already agreed

In particular, the Arizona Republican signaled that he opposes requiring insurance companies nationwide to provide coverage without regard to pre-existing conditions; requiring them to charge everyone the same rate regardless of health status; and requiring all Americans to carry health insurance. “One of the concerns I have about the approach of the Democrats … is an assumption that there has to be a national mandate on all insurers to do various things.” (Emphasis mine)

Kyl also told ABC News that he won’t even say yes to insurance reforms

Kyl is in favor of the status quo, which everyone else admits is unsustainable. As Obama told the DFA town hall yesterday, “If you like what what you have now, unless we make some changes you’re not going to have it much longer.” With insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs rising faster than inflation, Americans — and American businesses — are going broke to provide health coverage. The rapid rise in Medicare costs is going to eat the entire federal discretionary budget.

SOMETHING has to change; the question is what. Here’s Olympia Snowe talking to Andrea Mitchell, as reported by John Amato at C&L:

Mitchell: So bottom lines, Nancy Pelosi says that they will not produce anything that does not include a public option. Do you see any way that the gang of six will come out of the Finance Committee with a public option? Snowe: No, I don’t. We have not had the public option on the table. It’s been co ops and addressing affordability and availability and plans through the exchange and those are the challenges we’re wrestling with to insure that there are basic plans to offer Americans.

Unlike Kyl, Snowe at least thinks a plan is possible. But co-ops are an experiment that has been tried and failed. Even Blue Dog Kent Conrad, the most vocal supporter of co-ops, admits they would not cut costs. The Gang of Six is hardly representative of the Senate as a whole, and hasn’t produced a bill because they can’t contain costs without a public option. Instead of looking for ways to reduce overall health care spending, they keep trying to hold down the cost of the bill.

If there are others that have additional viewpoints or other ideas in policy… we are ready to hear it.

When Congress reconvenes, the GOP has nothing to offer. Blue Dogs and Olympia Snowe have something to offer, but it doesn’t amount to much and certainly doesn’t meet any of Obama’s three policy goals.

Remember: Obama only needs the Gang of Six to produce a bill — any bill. The Senate Finance Committee version can go straight to the circular file, if necessary, and the real sausage-making can begin in the negotiations between House and Senate.

House Democrats are pushing hard for the public option. Nancy Pelosi says she will not push a bill that lacks the public option. A progressive bloc of House Democrats say they will not vote for any bill that doesn’t include a public option. And Obama’s criteria for a bill pretty much guarantee a public option, because the opponents of reform can’t offer anything better.

Repeating myself: rumors of the public option’s death have been greatly exaggerated.