I think that what is more interesting is not what he said, but what he did not say:
“Well, he didn’t mention either abortion or the public option,” said Harkin, a strong backer of the public option and a chairman of the health committee. “He just laid out in very stark terms for us what the future would be if we didn’t pass [health care reform]. I think he’s right. I think it would be devastating. Not just for us as a party, I think for the hope that people have that we’re going to actually make these changes. To fail at this would just again be another one of those things where people say, ‘See, Washington doesn’t work. Washington can’t get anything done. We gave the Democrats all that power and nothing happens.’ And it would be depressing to people. We want to be more hopeful, we want to give people hope. So I thought his message on that was right on target.“
I think that the idea of relying on Barack Obama for meaningful healthcare, or for that matter support of abortion strong abortion rights, is a losing proposition.
He is more interested in signing something (keep him away from toilet paper) with the mane “healthcare reform” on it.
On the matter of abortion, as I noted 2 years ago, he is not willing to lend anything more than lip service to defending abortion rights.
He will do the right thing only if the pressure from his own party leaves him no other alternative.