Peppering the president with questions were some of the progressive community's most prominent netroots voices from Jonathan Singer of MyDD to John Amato of Crooks and Liars. As in interviews and public statements past, the president stressed that the White House had already made major steps toward achieving reform, including bringing key stakeholders in the private sector to the table. Repeating his statement on Monday criticizing the posture of some of his Republican opponents, Obama accused those who sought to delay the bill as trying to kill the prospects of reform and, by extension, his presidency.

"I think it was telling, some of you may have seen, a Republican senator this weekend saying, we are just going to delay and delay because if we can stop Obama on this one, this is going to be his Waterloo. We will break him," he said of the remarks made by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C). "That was a quote. And I think it indicates the degree to which a lot of folks may sincerely think that the more time we take the better off we are going to be but I also think there are some who deliberately want to delay this process because they know the longer the special interests have to run negative ads or lobby members of congress, the more difficult it becomes to get this done."

In this case, at this time, it is not enough to ask rhetorical arguments. The details of the plan are being worked out - it's a journalist's job to clarify them, for good or ill. Robert Reich tried to do that - Michael Lind did the exact opposite. Alex Koppelman ONLY presents rumors and polls. It's not, "What is he selling", but, "Here's what's on the table."

In this case, at this time, there is NOTHING important about "perception" - it is ONLY about facts.

So many people are hurting - dying - for lack of insurance or affordability. It's not a wonk-fest, it's an epidemic.

I don't expect much from Salon posters on this, who increasingly see the subject as a chance to go all kitchen-sink on their pet Obama peeves, or rail against the dying of their might, or play armchair autocrat with pie-in-the-sky alternatives. In a word, they're covered.

We are talking about the combined forces of greed, disinterest and flat-out lies leeching onto legislation that will hopefully answer an aching need, evident for decades. We need clarity, not equivocation.

I love Salon, but on this one you guys (save Reich) are doing a lousy job.

This is one of those cases where, truly, if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Period.