The XX Factor: What women really think.

Would Ted Kennedy Be Satisfied With This Health Care Plan?

Obama was back in campaign form tonight—fighting back, and dead serious about it. And there were notes of his inaugural address, when he called on Americans by invoking “the character of the country” and our sense of responsibility. And the president soared, in that lovely ode to Teddy Kennedy at the end, which you’re right, Hanna, went straight for liberals’ hearts.

But on the specifics, on the substance, I heard more tacking to the center than love for the left. Obama promised that people who don’t have employer-based coverage, or Medicaid or Medicare, will be able to buy affordable coverage on an exchange. But then he finessed the public option. He nodded to its value, but he also said it was only a means to an end. He will not insist on it. He’ll leave it for another day. Maybe four years from now.