But we’ve got to make sure the Republicans are happy.

For several months, the administration has sent mixed signals on proposals for a public plan, sometimes embracing the idea and sometimes suggesting it is not essential.

Julia Wanzco, a spokeswoman for Ms. Snowe, said: “She’s always had open lines of communication with the White House. For months.”

Despite Mr. Obama’s impressive victory last November, the White House finds itself trying to satisfy Ms. Snowe for several reasons: other Republican senators have turned against Mr. Obama’s approach, the White House cannot count on the support of moderate-to-conservative Democratic senators, and efforts to forge a bipartisan bill in the Senate Finance Committee have bogged down. 

No one could’ve predicted…