White House cool to re-opening public option debate, even though it is recommended in Simpson-Bowles deficit plan

I'm on a White House blogger conference call with a number of senior officials - Dan Pfeiffer, David Plouffe, and Brian Deese - and I got a chance to ask about the public option.  The Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction plan recommended a "robust public option."  Basically, what Obama had said he was going to push for during the campaign. In view of the fact that a bipartisan report is now endorsing not just "Obamacare," but what health care reform was supposed to be, I asked the White House if they'd consider the public option being the table.

I got a longwinded answer from Brian Deese, who works at the National Economic Council and is special assistant to the President for economic policy, restating what the President had already proposed.
So I responded, yes you just reiterated what the President already proposed, but you didn't answer my question, would you consider the public option being on the table?

I was told that no one is going to set preconditions as to what others may offer in the negotiations, and that was it.  In other words, someone else was free to put it on the table during the talks.

It's pretty clear that the White House has no desire to get anywhere near the public option for a long time coming, which is sad considering Simpson-Bowles just gave them one heck of an entree.  How the President isn't saying "I told you so" when everyone is talking about cutting health care costs.  He ought to throw this in the face of every single person who uses the phrase "Obamacare," of every single Republican who complains about the deficit.

So if Speaker Boehner is interested in a public option, it just might come up in this debate.

Sigh.