The most significant passage of President Obama’s speech has to be the following:

You will have your choice of a number of plans that offer a few different packages, but every plan would offer an affordable, basic package… And I believe one of these options needs to be a public option that will give people a broader range of choices and inject competition into the health care market, so that we can force waste out of the system and keep the insurance companies honest.

Whoops, we’re sorry! Bookmarked a June 2009 speech by mistake.

But while we’re there, can we just say that we count our blessings every day knowing that, with the electoral winds at his back and an overwhelmingly Democratic Congress, President Obama was not only able to get the healthcare package he envisioned, but was also able to pass his 2011 budget and avoid nasty showdowns over mid-year funding?

Apparently we can’t.

So reading Wednesday’s speech — the right one — you’ll forgive us if we don’t get excited about the passages where President Obama said the right things. Maybe during the campaign, maybe a couple years ago, but we’ve learned to wait for the hostage crisis to see what gets bargained away. And right now the next capture is looking like May 16, when our National Plastic gets cut off.

Remarks by the President on Fiscal Policy [White House]

“Former gubernatorial candidate Rory Reid’s campaign manager oversaw an operation last summer and fall that first erected an overall PAC that could take unlimited contributions and then created mini-PACS that would only exist temporarily to funnel that money back to the Reid campaign, emails I have obtained show.” [Las Vegas Sun, via Political Wire]

[Business Insider]

Instant Update: Congratulations to the Yes Men!

“Newly released Federal Aviation Administration documents and audiotapes shed a scary new light on a bizarre incident late last year during which U.S. Senator James Inhofe landed his Cessna on a closed runway at a south Texas airport, scattering construction workers who ran for their lives as the politician’s plane hopscotched over them and six vehicles.” [Smoking Gun, via Political Wire]

Wonderfully Creepy Sculptures Carved From Bananas [Laughing Squid]

[HuffPo, via Sully]

Let’s start today’s Poll Roundup (Note: Not a regular feature) with CNN:

Donald Trump is now tied with Mike Huckabee for first place when Republicans are asked who they support for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012, according to a new national poll.

Trump is not running, and Huckabee doesn’t seem to be. Next!

Public Policy Polling:

PPP’s newest national poll finds that after a little more than 3 months in charge House Republicans have fallen so far out of favor with the American public that it’s entirely possible Democrats could take control of the House back next year.

43% of voters think that House Republicans are doing a worse job now than the Democrats did, compared to only 36% who think the GOP has brought an improvement.

It’s quite an early call. Things change. For one thing, the economy had yet to go tits up in April 2007.

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