As the Democratic Party finds itself on the precipice of a civil war over a public option in universal healthcare, President Obama finds himself in the political fight of his life. A fight for his credibility and capital, one that will present serious choices and leave little room for error. Nobody knows what he’ll do, but let’s take a look at his options:

1. Run. If Hillary Clinton were President she’d take that healthcare hot potato and chuck it. Obama has displayed an appalling lack of leadership on heath reform. He sent no bills of his own to the Hill.  He took no specific positions on the five bills in the House and Senate.  He gave flowery calls to action and gave Pelosi and Reid the reigns. The best thing that could happen to him is that he pretends he was never as close to the problem as we suspected (Think Reverend Wright style). He’d have to throw leftist, congressional Dems under the political bus but he’d rather be on the side of the popular opinion than in the progressive minority on this one. He may loose a body of Congress as Bill Clinton did, but he’ll have a better shot of re-election. Where else is the far left going to go in 2012? Nader?

2. Rebrand Republican Ideas. The polls collectively display an overwhelming opposition to the government getting its grimy paws in healthcare. If the mismanagement of Medicaid and Medicare are any indication, it’s undoubtedly best. Obama, typically one to never want to be on the wrong side of a poll, could forgo the real public option and co-opt a Republican idea like signing up those 18 million Americans who are eligible for Medicaid but aren’t on the rolls. He could then call that his government option. Throw some cultish iconography on it, shout “Yes We Did” a few times at some rally and hope for the best. The left would still be pissed, but it would help him save face with the rest of the country without completely going into the witness protection program.

3. Be a Faux Bipartisan. Obama preached about reaching across the aisle during the campaign but hasn’t exactly performed. If he thought about it, it was only to choke someone for nailing him on his excessive spending and failed stimulus. He could bring in the GOP for buy-in to his plan by forgoing the public option and adding some populist themes to his push like tort reform. Then once Republicans have come on board, he blames them for everything that’s wrong with healthcare and start with Medicare. The move is super Clintonian and it’s unlikely Obama has the ability to pull it off as adeptly as Bill did, but it’s still on the table.

4. Roll Over. His final, and most politically unwise option, is to let the far left have their way with him by unquestionably, consistently advocating for a public option. He’ll task Pelosi with ramming it through the House and gear up for a bloodbath in the Senate. He will likely write his own obituary, and his party will have just about eaten each other alive, but he might not care if he thinks it’ll earn him historic grandeur in academic textbooks.

Obama needs to make up his mind and do it quickly. The electorate may have signaled they’ll be patient with the new President, but after weeks of public blunders, insults, ignored outrage and message mismanagement their patience has run thin.