Our good friend John Amato critcizes WaPo's Ruth Marcus for urging Democrats capitulate on the public option. I have a problem with John's criticism for two reasons. First, Ruth Marcus does not believe in a public option. Why should she argue that Democrats should hold the line for a policy she does not believe in?

But my real criticism of John is his willful blindness regarding the fact that more influential people in the Media, who CLAIM to believe in a public option, say precisely the same thing Marcus does about the public option - that Dems should give it up. Yes, I am talking abvout the Village Blogosphere - Josh Marshall, Ezra Klein, Matthew Yglesias, Kevin Drum and others to come (just watch). Why is John silent about these voices, whose positions are much more disingenuous? Their voices are much more influential than Marcus' and their lack of forthrightness about what they really think about the public option seems to me to be much more worthy of discussion than Marcus' urging a course of action in line with her stated policy views. I am not a fan of urging people to not argue for their policy views. I am strongly in favor of urging people to argue HONESTLY in favor of their policy views.

Speaking for me only