Jan. 11: Was Reid Quote Leak Meant To Sabotage Health Care Bill?

By Sylvia Gurinsky

While seemingly everyone is jumping on U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for his statements about then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, the furor generates a couple of questions in this corner.

*Who leaked Reid's comments, published in the book "Game Change," written by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann about the 2008 presidential campaign? They weren't in the press releases from the publishers, according to Politico.com.

*Why, in a book that has interesting revelations about everyone from Hillary Clinton to Sarah Palin and John Edwards (no, not together), are Reid's comments drawing the most scrutiny - especially when he's already apologized to Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder has defended him?

Many will say the discussion is about race; Republicans who drop-kicked former Majority Leader Trent Lott after his comments praising "Dixiecrat" Strom Thurmond's presidential campaign of 1948 claim hypocrisy.

Perhaps there's another reason: Health care.

A lot of people don't like the versions of the health care legislation the two houses of Congress passed - particularly the Senate's version, which completely dropped any semblance of a public option.

Unquestionably, Reid goofed in his statements. But did someone want revenge against Reid over health care, and thus used this quote to do it? It's worth thinking about.