Thursday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

I do think Obama seized the initiative in the health insurance debate last night. Now, he has to keep it. As we've seen, it takes more than a speech. It takes action. And, ostensibly, I'm one of Obama's "progressive friends" who supports the public option. My advice to him is to keep it -- and don't fall for gimmicks concocted by insurance industry allies to ruin it.

One thing about the speech last night: The Republicans sure showed their true colors. They were like spoiled kids who aren't getting their way. While there's a lot of talk about bipartisanship among the D.C. political punditry, there's not much acknowledgement of just how crazy the remaining Republicans, especially in the House, have become. Last night, the whole world saw it.

Florida gets its new U.S. Senator today. George Lemieux, a very close ally of Governor/Senate candidate Charlie Crist, will be sworn in to replace Mel Martinez. Crist just wants Lemieux to keep the seat warm.

Let's get started...