Stand back, ladies and gentlemen, it appears that the fight for… um, whatever… is starting. Appearing at a photo op town-hall meeting with Sen. Harry Reid in Nevada today, President Obama “made a fervent pitch” for passing a healthcare reform bill — and for the so-called summit with Republican and Democratic members of Congress next week.

David Brooks looks around and wonders why we no longer respect our elites like back in the good old days when they were all rich connected white guys.

If Democrats are now working on a reconciliation sidecar strategy, they should use this opportunity to make policy changes to make the health care bill more popular, or, at least, less politically toxic. One thing they could do is remove the most unpopular provisions, like the oft-denigrated excise tax on employer-provided health insurance, or the individual mandate, which is extremely unpopular. It does not matter that both ideas were once supported by Republicans–they don’t support them now, and will hammer Democrats mercilessly on them.

Margolis, as was expected based on news reports, essentially shielded Jay Bybee and John Yoo from any disciplinary action by absolving them from any professional misconduct in writing their justifications of waterboarding and other torture techniques.

Greg Sargent gets the scoop on the health care proposal being written by the White House in advance of the health care summit. Big surprise, it’s what the House and Senate would have voted on if Martha Coakley won her election in Massachusetts. In other words, only the deal on the excise tax already forged with the unions, and no public option.

In stark contrast to recent reports of a deal that would pass comprehensive health care reform, Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) told supporters this week that a comprehensive bill would not pass, and the best alternative option would be to get Republicans on the record with a series of smaller bills, building incrementally to a full set of reforms. Massa said that the House would begin that next week, when they finally take up the delayed (by snow) vote to repeal the insurance industry’s anti-trust exemption.

There has been a lot of talk about using reconciliation lately. What is important is that reconciliation measures by law face only limited debate in the Senate, so, as a result, can’t be filibustered. Reconciliation measures can pass with a simple, Constitutional majority vote. Let’s look at how this works.

After weeks without clarity, it appears the top leadership in the Democratic Party is committed to using the budget reconciliation process to make changes to the health care bill so it can pass both chambers of Congress. And the White House supports the action as well.

Worrying that the public option might ruin a non-existent compromise on a smaller reconciliation bill, one which would quickly shed support votes the second Republicans started the attacks, is misguided. The only hope for health care is a reconciliation sidecar fix, and the only hope of selling reconciliation to the American people is to use it to do something extremely popular–like add a public option. With people already tired of the debate, another bill that no one can understand is not a way forward.

Brad Ellsworth has ended the coyness and announced his interest in a candidacy for the US Senate seat held by the retiring Evan Bayh. Ultimately, however, the decision is not up to him; it’s up to the Indiana Democratic Party, which can choose a replacement on the ballot because no candidate qualified for the primary.