CHERRY PICKING FROM YOUR OWN PARTY IS A SURE WAY TO WIN FRIENDS, HUH?:

RecoverySomething New On Health Care: Deal-Breakers From The President (Marc Ambinder, 9/01/09, Atlantic)

Though officials would not provide the numbers Obama plans to use, they say that the goal is to give his side -- Democrats -- a true presidential plan that they can sell. That includes the rebranding of several consensus initiatives, like the insurance reforms, as his own. The effect of this sales job, if it works, will be to associate the president with parts of the reform bills that are almost certainly likely to pass -- assuming the Senate doesn't bog down.