“[W]hen you cut through all of the noise and all of the distractions that are out there, I think what’s most telling is that some of the people who are most supportive of [health care] reform are the very medical professionals who know the health care system best, the doctors and nurses of America,” President Obama told the 150 medical professional assembled in the Rose Garden for an event highlighting the medical community’s support for health care reform.

Obama urged the doctors to speak out on behalf of reform. “You are the people who know this system best, you are the experts, nobody has more credibility with the American people on this issue than you do,” he said. “If you’re willing to speak out strongly on behalf of the things you care about, and what you see each and every day as you’re serving patients all across the country, I’m confident we are going to get health reform passed this year.”

Responding to Obama, Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) — who spent his summer running a misleading campaign to trick physicians into opposing health care reform — and former AMA President Dr. Donald Palmisano held a conference call dismissing physicians’ support for reform. Price said he was “concerned that a hand-picked group were applauding a government take-over of health care.” A “real cross-section would not have been applauding government takeover of health care.”

Doctors may not applaud a “government-takeover,” but a “real cross-section” of physicians does support the public option and Medicare expansion. One survey of over 2,000 doctors found that “whether they lived in southern regions of the United States or traditionally liberal parts of the country…whether they were salaried or they were practice owners, regardless of whether they were specialists or primary care providers,” a majority supported a public option:

- 73 percent of physicians: supported some form of a public option, either alone or in combination with private insurance options

- 62 percent of AMA respondents: expressed support for some form of a public option, either alone or in combination with private insurance options

- 58 percent of physicians: support Medicare expansions to individuals 55 to 64 years of age

Price insisted that “thousands” of physicians “are coming to Washington, expressing their concern about the President’s program.” A reporter on the call reminded Price and Palmisano that the American Medical Association has endorsed the House health bill — which includes a robust public plan. Palmisano responded that they had not consulted him before making the endorsement.

Lawrence O’Donnell — who served as Senate Finance Committee staff director during the debate over President Clinton’s failed health care reforms — tells Politico’s Live Pulse that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) shouldn’t merge the Senate Finance Committee’s health bill with the HELP Committee’s far more progressive alternative. Sen. George Mitchell tried that in 1994 and Republicans went line-by-line successfully defeating the bill:

“The basic lesson of ’94 is don’t bother trying to merge those bills,” said Lawrence O’Donnell, who served as Senate Finance Committee staff director during the debate over President Clinton’s failed health care reforms. After Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell merged the finance and labor committee bills, Republicans successfully targeted the more liberal labor committee provisions for deletion and won their removal with 100-0 votes. After about a week of watching the GOP dismantle the bill line-by-line, Mitchell was forced to take it off the floor, essentially killing reform. This go ’round, O’Donnell told Pulse, Reid would be wise to largely ignore the HELP bill and push forward with the more moderate Baucus bill, which includes provisions that President Obama has endorsed.

The most controversial element of this health care reform fight is, of course, the public option and Reid has flip-flopped on his willingness to include the provision in the merged Senate legislation. On Thursday, Reid promised, “We are going to have a public option before this bill goes to the President’s desk,” suggesting that the bill will move to the floor of the Senate with the public plan. Meanwhile, “senior administration officials have been holding private meetings almost daily at the Capitol with senior Democratic staff to discuss ways to include a version of the public plan in the healthcare bill that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) plans to bring to the Senate floor this month.”

But is O’Donnell right? Does it make more sense to exclude the public plan from the Senate bill and add it during Conference? I think it does. The public plan has become a political wedge issue. Republicans have staked their entire opposition to reform on the public plan, effectively shutting out any meaningful discussion about affordability or insurance regulations.

Excluding the public option from the Senate bill could broaden the health care debate. Republicans will complain that they need assurances that a public option won’t be added in during conference. They’ll spend more energy questioning the constitutionality of the individual mandate, the wisdom of eliminating the overpayments to private insurers participating in Medicare Advantage, rationing abortions to women, and ensuring that legal immigrants don’t have access to care.

But these issues lack the broad appeal of the party’s government take-over theme; they force the party to play to its right wing base. By voting against the final bill, conservatives will register their opposition to a very sensible, moderate, package of reforms. Democrats will preserve the integrity of the public option. It will remain intact, away from reformers who seek to transform it into a co-op or a “network” of state-based public plans.

Democrats could then add the public option to the final health care bill during conference, when they reconcile the House and Senate bills. Reid may not have 60 Senate votes for a public plan, but then again, he doesn’t need them. The Senate requires 60 votes to break a filibuster and 50+ votes to pass a bill. During the negotiations, Pelosi will likely argue that she needs a public plan to pass a health care bill in the House and the White House will lean on Reid to include some kind of public option.

With zero chance of securing Republican support, Democrats may find the chutzpah to take advantage of their super majority and pass substantial health care legislation.