Snowe: Obama should take public option off the table tonight

President Obama should take the public option off the table in his speech tonight and show a willingness to consider alternatives, a key Republican senator argued Wednesday.

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), a centrist Republican whose support has been actively sought by the White House, said that progress on health reform legislation would make more progress if the president rules out the public option in his joint session address to Congress tonight.

"I hope that this public option will be taken off the table," Snowe said during an appearance on MSNBC. "Hopefully he will indicate that he will consider alternatives to the public option so we can move the debate forward."

Snowe is one of a handful of Senate Republicans who have been locked in negotiations for a bipartisan health bill. She noted that no Republicans -- along with some Democrats -- would support the public option, and asserted that Obama would show flexibility in his speech this evening.

"I think he's going to be very flexible," she said. "He has indicated a practicality and pragmatism, and he recognizes that those are essential to achieving an agreement."

"I think the point is how we bridge the divide," she added.