What is going on with healthcare reform?

Being in Taiwan and being distracted by other issues lately meant I've been out to lunch on US news and politics for a while. Thus when I started casually browsing the blogs for an leisurely early morning read I was shocked to see this item:

What’s the latest assessment from those closely monitoring health care reform? Prognosis negative.

“Health reform is, I think it fair to say, in danger right now,” wrote Ezra Klein this morning at the Washington Post.

“Attention fellow liberals who want health care reform,” wrote Jonathan Cohn yesterday at the New Republic. “You are in danger of losing the fight for universal health insurance. And it’s not only — or even primarily — because of the public plan.”

“Anyone else think the net result of health reform is going to be that insurance companies have even more political power?,” twittered Atrios this afternoon.

But...Barack Obama won! The Dems control both chambers of congress! Obama said healthcare reform is a priority and the polls show that the American people are behind him! We won! We won BIG, baby!

So how the...did we get to this place?!

The man once slated to head Barack Obama's health care system overhaul is now coming out against one of the chief components of that effort.

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said on Wednesday that the Obama White House would likely have to scrap a federal public option for health insurance coverage if it wanted to get the votes needed to pass systematic change.

"We've come too far and gained too much momentum for our efforts to fail over disagreement on one single issue," the Senator and one-time HHS Secretary nominee said, according to ABC News.

Like Atrios said: "reform without a public option is actually likely to make things worse, pouring even more money into the corrupt insurance industry and giving them even more political power."

This is surreal. This is like taking a break with your team ahead by five runs only to find that they've blown their lead by the time you got back to the couch with the popcorn. Or coming home to find that everyone else in the household has been turned into zombies.

NonononononoonoNOOOO!