Obama: Back Up Rahmbo!

Olivia Offner | July 07, 2009 11:46 AM

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel suggested in an interview yesterday with the Wall Street Journal that the administration would be willing to adopt a health care reform bill that did not include a public option. Emanuel said:

The goal is to have a means and a mechanism to keep the private insurers honest. The goal is non-negotiable; the path is negotiable.

Today, President Obama fired back all the way from Russia, with a statement saying:

I am pleased by the progress we're making on health care reform and still believe, as I've said before, that one of the best ways to bring down costs, provide more choices, and assure quality is a public option that will force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest. I look forward to a final product that achieves these very important goals.

Apparently the path isn't as "negotiable" as Rahmbo thought.

Politico.