The healthcare debate in Lincoln, NE, earlier this year.
photo: Nat Harnik, AP, via the NY Times

The tone of discussions of reform in both Congress and the blogosphere has changed remarkably over the last few days. It’s gone from pessimistic to optimistic, and from a sense of retreat and a whittling away of substantive reform toward a careful expansion of reform — including the inclusion of a public option.

Many a slip between cup and lip, of course, and things could (and almost certianly will) bounce around some more yet. But it’s certainly getting more interesting.

My own short list of posts from the last 48 or so:

Among the quickest to celebrate was Jonathan Chait of the New Republic, who has already written — jumping the gun, methinks — of How Health Care Reform Won. He says it’s turned into a fait accompli. I’ll buy fait most likely.

Ezra Klein sees the the opt-out public-option option as A Public Option Compromise That Might Actually Work? — while warning against what he calls Bad Public Plan Arguments. He also give a helpful look at what it means when polls report that people Are Satisfied With Their Health Care.

Nate Silver likes the public option well enough, lodges this request: Opt Me Out of Public Option Purism.

Then Nate looks at how the CBO Report Could Be Turning Point.

The CBO scoring is important rhetorically. It provides political cover for those who want to support the bill but do not want to expand deficits or explain to voters why they are voting for “bigger government.”

The Dartmouth Atlas project, which has done so much to reveal the wild excesses of health-care spending in some areas of the country, gets a look in How hysterectomies spurred Dartmouth Atlas’ birth. As a Vermonter, I’m proud to see that it started here, folks.

That’s probably enough for now.