To the dismay of many liberals, the final health care bill signed into law by President Barack Obama did not include a public option.
Advocates had argued that a government-run insurance plan would keep private insurers honest by competing with them so they couldn't charge unfair rates for basic services. Opponents countered that the public option would have presented too much government involvement in the health care system.
But while the House of Representatives approved a bill with a public option, the Senate, after flirting with the concept, chose not to follow suit. When the House went on to pass the Senate version, House Democratic leaders went along with the Senate's version.
The reason for not including a public option was pretty simple. When an audience member at a March 25, 2010, speech in Iowa City, Iowa, asked why the public option wasn't included, Obama responded, "Because we couldn"t get it through Congress, that"s why."
So we rate this Promise Broken.