Obama: Another Bill McKay? Stay Tuned

Back when I was much younger, there was a movie called "The Candidate" in which Robert Redford portrays an idealistic liberal California senatorial candidate Bill McKay who, with prodding from his chief political adviser, compromises his ideals after he wins his party's primary but still wins the general election over a classic right-wing Republican incumbent.
I wonder if a somewhat similar scenario applies to President Obama who ran on a series of progressive ideals during his memorable 2008 campaign, but seemingly has begun a process of compromising all that he ran on down the river.
Call it a case of recognizing political reality, but what happened to the fight and commitment Obama showed during his campaign?
Polls show Obama's popularity down, but he has been down before? Remember the Rev. Wright fiasco during the primary season in which Obama overcame with a magnificent speech he gave on race in Philadelphia?
He's going to have to do it again on Wednesday when he addresses a joint session of Congress, but instead of speaking about an overall issue like he did about race relations last year, he's going to have to be far more specific than he's ever been on healthcare reform.
Obama wasn't the first choice of many progressives during the campaign when it came to healthcare reform. Many chose John Edwards who had been speaking forcefully and with compassion on the issue since his first presidential run in 2004 while others backed Hillary Clinton, who fought a losing battle for healthcare reform in 1993.
Still others chose Dennis Kucinich, the only candidate willing to stick his neck out for single-payer "Medicare for All" coverage.
But even during the campaign, Obama was unwilling to embrace Kucinich's message or some of the more aggressive approaches both Clinton and Edwards were advocating.
Instead, his message (which continues to this day) was simple. If you liked the insurance coverage you have, you can keep it, only we'll make it cheaper to have.
He spoke of the need for a public option in general terms, never in the specifics many on the left wanted. He spoke of the need to have that force to keep health costs down and insurance companies honest, but he never defined what he meant by "public option."
Is this "public option" a type of Medicare that will help folks pay for basic care and services and can't turn you down because of pre-existing conditions or current systems, or is it a watered down co-op proposal such as the one Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) has advanced?
People were willing to forgive Obama for not having some specifics when he spoke about healthcare reform during the campaign, but this time, with his presidency seemingly on the line, folks won't be so forgiving if he doesn't fight for what many thought he was for during the campaign on an issue as big as this one.
I'm waiting to hear the details about what Obama will talk about, but if he doesn't speak forcefully and specifically for a robust public option, he'll become nothing more than just a Bill McKay-type who turned his back on his principles once he got elected and will be worthy of nothing more than a strong primary challenge in 2012.