Secret Pony Plan Theory

"That's what I will do in bringing all parties together, not negotiating behind closed doors, but bringing all parties together, and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are, because part of what we have to do is enlist the American people in this process,"

Candidate Obama (debate in Los Angeles) Jan. 31, 2008

"People say, 'Well, you have this great health care plan, but how are you going to pass it? You know, it failed in '93,'

'”And what I've said is, I'm going to have all the negotiations around a big table. We'll have doctors and nurses and hospital administrators. Insurance companies, drug companies — they'll get a seat at the table, they just won't be able to buy every chair. But what we will do is, we'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies. And so, that approach, I think is what is going to allow people to stay involved in this process."

Candidate Obama , (Town Hall in Chester, Va.) Aug. 21, 2008

Obama "has demonstrated more transparency than any president," but that "I don't think the president intimated that every decision putting together a health care bill would be on public TV."

Robert Gibbs, White House spokesman

http://www.politifact.com/

And the real Story

The four relevant House chairmen will meet with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team at 1 o'clock in the speaker's Capitol office to start setting the parameters for negotiations with the Senate.

Then, Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) will head to the White House for an early-evening meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss the final bill, according to Democratic officials. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and party Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) will participate in the meeting via conference call because neither has returned to Washington from the holiday break.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/

Partisan, closed door meetings in the White House.  And likely a closed door conference committee meeting:

Earlier today, Jonathan Cohn broke the news that House and Senate Democrats are “almost certainly” going to bypass the official conference committee process to pass the health care reform bill. The reasoning given by Democrats is that going to conference allows Republicans with multiple opportunities to block or delay the bill’s ultimate passage.

http://blog.sunlightfoundation.com/

Looks like Chicago politics at it’s best.  Speaking of Chicago…

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Rock-star wife/TV personality Sharon Osbourne. Pro wrestler/actor Goldberg. Comic Sinbad.

Toss in a couple of former athletes, Australian TV chef Curtis Stone and Victoria's Secret model Selita Ebanks, and you have most of the season 3 cast of "The Celebrity Apprentice."

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on the set of "The View" in 2009 in New York.
(AP)

Donald Trump boasted that the upcoming season is the best ever and promised the star power of its cast "blows 'Dancing With the Stars' away."

The show won't debut till March 14 but threw an introductory news conference in October, with sworn-to-secrecy reporters meeting the contenders. Now, NBC says it's time to unveil the participants.

http://www.suntimes.com/

Other news buzz about the health care bill and winning despite the costs:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/05/hiding-health-bills-behind-closed-doors/

http://www.c-span.org/Topics/Health-Care-Insurance-Reform-Legislation-Town-Hall.aspx

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/peter-roff/2010/01/04/democratic-leaders-plan-secret-health-reform-deliberations.html

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/morning-fix/-colleen-flanagan-httpwwwcoura.html?hpid=topnews

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/why-its-bad-news-that-the_b_411463.html

Secret Pony Plan Theory (i.e. the theory that says that when any politician we're supposed to love does something awful, it's actually part of a secret 15-dimensional plan to do something awesome

David Sirota

Glad 2009 is over.  Looks like a struggle through 2010.