This report suggests that far from getting serious about a health-care deal, Obama in his big prime-time turn-this-all-around moment is going to embrace the Left on what we know to be a nonstarter, the public option:

President Barack Obama, in a high-stakes speech Wednesday to Congress and the nation, will press for a government-run insurance option in a proposed overhaul of the U.S. health-care system that has divided lawmakers and voters for months. White House officials say the president will detail what he wants in the health-care overhaul, as well as say he is open to better ideas on a government plan if lawmakers have them.

Democratic plans call for requiring most Americans to carry health insurance. Failure to comply could cost families as much as $3,800 a year, according to a new Senate proposal.

The president is likely to say that a government-run insurance plan, known as the “public option,” will not provide a level of subsidies that give it an unfair advantage over private insurers, according to aides familiar with the speech preparations.

He’s kidding, right? Dozens of Blue Dogs are opposed to the public option, and even Big Labor is throwing in the towel. But Obama is going to put the stake in the ground on the Left’s dream of a government-run health-care plan? Well, that’s an odd way to reach out to conservatives and moderates. Moreover, this comes just as Sen. Max Baucus is peddling a plan that omits the public option.

Then there is that fine. I wonder how all those bright-eyed young voters, healthy and not really interested in buying health-care insurance, feel about the prospect of a $3,800 fine for failing to sign up for ObamaCare.

Now perhaps the report has it wrong, and Obama is going to avoid appearing utterly out of touch with the groundswell of opposition to a government takeover of health care. Maybe he’ll not embrace the Left but instead show a hint of recognition that he understands the concerns — and yes, fears — of average Americans who don’t really want the health-care system ripped up by the roots. But then again, Obama is a very arrogant man, convinced that he knows best and that, through the sheer brilliance of his words, can turn public opinion around. So a very arrogant speech may be just what he has in mind.