Public Option. Co-Op. Same thing . Don't get fooled. Not a Compromise .

So What's The Difference Between The Public-Option and A Co-Op? Absolutely nothing.

As Michael Tanner at the CATO Institute recently pointed out, "Government-run health care is government-run health care no matter what you call it." Tanner elaborated: The health care 'co-op' approach now embraced by the Obama administration will still give the federal government control over one-sixth of the U.S. economy, with a government-appointed board, taxpayer funding, and with bureaucrats setting premiums, benefits, and operating rules."

Or, as Connie Hair put it, proponents of ObamaCare are only after "control of every health care dollar spent in this country" and they "consider the co-op merely a name change."

But don't take their word for it. Check out what President Obama and his Congressional allies say about co-ops:

"I think in theory you can imagine a co-operative meeting that definition [of a 'public option']." - President Obama, July 29, Time Magazine

"We're going to have some type of public option, call it 'co-op,' call it what you want." - Senate Majority Leader Reid, July 10, Washington Post

"You could theoretically design a co-op plan that had the same attributes as a public plan." - Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius, June 27, Bloomberg

"Chairman Baucus has asked me to sit down with [Sen.] Kent Conrad to see if we can use the co-op model to achieve the same goals as a public plan." - Sen. Chuck Schumer, June 15, Roll Call

"It will have, coming out of the House, a public option. The only debate on that is what it will be called." - Speaker Nancy Pelosi, July 13, Reuters

"The [co-op has] to be written in a way that accomplishes the objectives of a public option." - Sen. Max Baucus, June 12, Politico