President Obama will encounter difficulties wrangling together liberal members of his own party on issues if he abandons the public option, one Democratic congresswoman warned Sunday.



"He's going to have a real hard time with us," Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) said during an interview on MSNBC when asked if Democrats would "abandon" him.



Clarke said she expects the president to flex some political muscle Wednesday night during a speech to a joint session of Congress, where he's expected to detail his priorities for healthcare reform.



There have been varying signs about where, if at all, Obama will come down on the public (or "government-run") option, as liberal Democrats have expressed growing dissatisfaction about the president's handling of healthcare.



Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), for instance, has continued to warn against dropping the public option, accusing Obama of not having led members of his own party in support of the controversial provision.



Clarke said the public option is the only plan that would genuinely affect costs.



"The only thing that drives that down is a public option," she explained. "In my constituency, they understand what that means, they understand that's not a government takeover...it is the one thing we can actually do to bring reform to healthcare."

