BASH: ..You talk to a lot of Democrats and there is a fundamental feeling among many of them that you have animus towards the President, that you have animus toward your former party and that they say this is all about Joe Lieberman.

LIEBERMAN: Well that's just poppy-cock. I mean, this is all about what I think health care reform should be... So again I understand people's disappointment. Emotions are running high here. I'm focusing on getting a health care bill passed that I think is a good bill and not one that will contain baggage that not only I, but most of the American people will not like...

BASH: Are you convinced that the Medicare buy-in idea is now gone from the health care bill?

LIEBERMAN: Well, first, it was a very good meeting at the White House. President made the case that the merged bill is a good bill and it really will be extraordinarily important to millions of people in the country and it will do what he wanted to do from the beginning -- begin to cut the cost of health care increases and extend health care insurance to a lot of people who don't have it and regulate the insurance companies in a tougher way.

He also spoke very practically. He said, you know, we're 60 people in the Senate Democratic caucus, everybody has their own politics. You've got to work together to get this done. I thought it was actually quite effective.

BASH: But did he specifically say -- did he specifically talk about this issues?

LIEBERMAN: The public option or the Medicare buy-in?

BASH: The Medicare buy-in?

LIEBERMAN: He didn't really specifically dwell on it. Look, I took him to say, let's reach an agreement. Don't let a part of this deprive the American people from the whole of it, which will really be the kind of health care reform that people have tried to achieve for decades here in this country. And then there were a lot of questions and answers.

BASH: That could be a message to you to say, Senator Lieberman, don't dwell on this Medicare buy-in issue. Perhaps you need to accept it and accept compromise.

LIEBERMAN: Yes, I was hearing it in another way.

Look, I spoke and I thanked him because I think the president's leadership has put us in reach of a consensus of health care reform. And you know, I said quite honestly to my colleagues -- I knew some of them were upset about positions I'd taken. But like each of them, I didn't get elected by telling my voters in Connecticut that I would follow the majority of my caucus even if I thought on some things they were wrong. We each have to do what we think is right.

As the president said, we each did have different points of view. But the challenge was to blend them and it wasn't easy of a caucus of 60. But we needed 60 votes, according to Senate rules. In a group of 60 senators achieving ideological uniformity is impossible because the country is too big and we represent too many people.

BASH: So at this point, knowing what you know now, do you think you'll vote for health care?

LIEBERMAN: Here's what I'd say. I've always wanted to be able to say yes to health care reform. But there were some parts of this bill, public option, Medicare buy-in that I thought would essentially lead to a government takeover of health care in America, which I'm against, because I think it would reduce quality and increase prices and certainly raise the debt and taxes.

If as appears now that the public option, the Medicare buy-in are taken out -- and I'm waiting to see the actual language and the budget office estimate -- then I'll be in a position to do what I've wanted to do, which is to say yes to health care reform.

I'm moving very much in the direction of saying yes, pending just seeing what I've been told is happening with the bill.

BASH: But you talked about the fact that on this particular issue, a Medicare buy-in, you have changed your position and you've said it's because things have changed. The deficits are high and Medicare is in more trouble -- the system.

LIEBERMAN: Yes.

BASH: But give me a little straight talk like your friend John McCain gives. Is it also that you philosophically have moved to the right a little bit?

LIEBERMAN: No, I don't think so. I mean, actually, this is a very progressive bill. The parts that I didn't like are taken out, I'm prepared to support. I've always believed that government has to be there when nobody else will be there to help people.

But in this country we don't believe the government should take over everything. And for me, that's what's been on the line here. What kind of future are we going to have? And of course all of this goes to the debt -- the national debt and taxes. If government takes over everything -- the public option is something the public will pay for.

And that means higher taxes. That's why I did that.

BASH: As you know, there already is a lot of pressure on some of your liberal colleagues to vote against this without the very provision that you single handedly got out of this bill -- the Medicare buy-in, not to mention a public option.

Howard Dean has on his web site, "If Barack Obama's health care plan gets changed to exclude a public option like Medicare, then it is not health care reform."

LIEBERMAN: So I turn back the question that people have asked me to Governor Dean and others who may be raising this possibility of voting against health care reform -- people in the left side of the party.

Would you really because you couldn't get everything you want, stop this extraordinary reform? I mean, it will provide, by all expert's estimates, insurance to 30 million people who don't have that now.

BASH: Couldn't somebody ask that very question, Senator Lieberman?

LIEBERMAN: They have. That's why I'm throwing it back to them because I think -- you know, this bill is a generous bill. And to adopt it now is a stretch. But it is important to do. And basically I've said to my colleagues, don't push this too far. You can try to do so much that you end up doing nothing.

Again, I repeat what I hear from people all the time, they're worried about government spending too much money. They're worried about government taking over everything including health care. And that's why I think this will be not only a better bill but a more publicly accepted bill without any threat of a government takeover of health insurance.

At one point during the private White House meeting, Lieberman said: "I haven't really had a lot of fun the last couple of weeks."

His comment prompted a retort from Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), a staunch public option supporter: "I haven’t been having fun either," Brown said, according to Lieberman.

Obama, who was described as upbeat in what was an otherwise serious meeting, responded: "Why don't we all begin to have some fun? Let's pass this bill."

Obama thanked Lieberman privately for his statement issued earlier Tuesday pledging support for the bill as long as the Medicare expansion and public option were eliminated from the bill, Lieberman said.