Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Obama is holding another meeting today with all the key players on Afghanistan. John posted the report that the U.S. already sent an additional 13,000 soldiers to that war, beyond the initial announced increase of 21,000. At some point in the near future, we'll be get Obama's plan for the war he inherited from George Bush.

In the Senate, the pressure is now on Majority Leader Harry Reid to craft a real health insurance reform bill. The model is the Senate HELP Committee's legislation, not the Baucus bill. And, here's an idea: no gimmicks. Just include a robust public option. Senators are always coming up with convoluted ideas. We've heard co-ops, triggers and opt-out. How about just doing what a 51 Democratic Senators (a majority, btw) support and the vast majority of Americans want? That means a real public option.

You have been given great power, Harry Reid, use it wisely and do the right thing.

Let's start....