Hotline After Dark -- Public Option: Wanted Dead or Alive?

"World News", "Evening News" and "Nightly News" each led with the earthquake and tsunami in the South Pacific.

Pols and pundits weighed in on the public option cmte vote 9/29 p.m.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), on what it means that it "didn't survive" the cmte: "It would have been better if it had passed. And certainly, it didn't. But we picked up votes we didn't expect, particularly on my amendment, Jay [Rockefeller] and I working as a team. ... This is an uphill fight. We knew it. But a month ago, the public option was dead. Now, we're alive and fighting. Even two of the three senators who spoke out against it said they were interested in it, and we're going to keep working at it until we get this done. ... I think we have a pretty good chance" ("Rachel Maddow Show," MSNBC, 9/29).

CNN's Bash: "Democratic leadership sources ... say that what you saw today, that is a Democratic priority, a public option, defeated with help of conservative Democrats, that it's really a prelude to what they believe will happen on the Senate floor. But if you listen to Democratic supporters who are so passionate about this, it sounded like they were incredibly positive. They were trying to put a very positive spin on the outcome of today" ("Situation Room," 9/29).

Bash, on whether the public option got a "significant setback": "No question about it" ("Situation Room," 9/29).

After the jump, more public option reax and Ex-U.S. Atty Chris Christie (R) is interviewed.

(ABBY LIVINGSTON)

Rockefeller, on how much of a setback the 9/29 votes were: "It isn't. Obviously I would have liked to won my public option amendment which was a very strict one. But I got eight votes for it. That's more than I expected. ... We're moving in the right direction" (MSNBC, 9/29).

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), on whether the 9/29 votes were a "setback": "I don't believe today was a setback at all" ("Ed Show," MSNBC, 9/29).

ROCK AND A HOUSE SPOT

Pundits also weighed in on where this puts centrist Dem House members 9/29 p.m.

CNN's Martin, on how the House will react: "I just got off the phone with several House members. They made it perfectly clear that the Senate vote emboldens them. They say they're going to push even harder. You're going to see liberal and progressive interest groups even put more pressure on the House to toe the line" ("Campbell Brown," 9/29).

CNN's Crowley: "One Democrat said to me, on the House side, we have to hold on to the public option on the House side, just so, when we get into bargaining with the Senate, we have something to bargain with" ("AC 360," 9/29).

Filmmaker Michael Moore, on his threat to campaign against Dems: "These Democrats think that they can just do whatever they want because where else are we going to go? Who else are we going to vote for? .... We're going to start in the primaries. Any Democrat that gets in the way of true reform, reform that has to include the public option, we are going to campaign against them in the primary. We're going to try to find people to run against them."

More Moore: "They are not going to get away with this. The American people, the vast majority of American people, depending on what poll you read, two-thirds to three-quarters of the American people expect universal health care, are demanding it, and they want the public option" ("AC 360," CNN, 9/29).

ONLY THE TOUGH SURVIVE

Christie appeared on "Your World" to discuss the NJ gov. race 9/29 p.m.

Christie, on NJ Gov. Jon Corzine's (D) "nasty" ads against him: "It's typical Jon Corzine. That is what he did when he ran for the Senate in 2000 against former Governor Florio in a primary and against Bob Franks in a general, what he did to Doug Forrester four years ago, and what he's trying to do to me now."

More Christie: "I knew it was coming. I told everybody in February that he would get in the gutter. That is the kind of campaigner he is. But we have broad shoulders. And we're ready to talk about the real issues the people of New Jersey care about."

Christie, on whether Obama coming to NJ to campaign will hurt him: "No, because the people of New Jersey know that Jon Corzine's failed policy has led to the highest unemployment in the region, the highest tax burden in America, the worst property taxes in America. And there's nothing President Obama can say in the last five weeks to make that go away. They have lived that failed governorship. And they need change. And I'm the change that we're going to have."

Christie, on claiming he will be a one-term gov.: "I won't rule out running for a second term, but I will say is, I will govern and make decisions that give no regard to what the political fortunes will be in four years" (FNC, 9/29).