Politico:

Sen. Tom Carper bided his time on health care reform.
Rarely in the spotlight, and unfailingly restrained, the Delaware Democrat never staked out a public position on the government insurance option, solidifying his status as the model of an undecided moderate in need of persuading.
But now, Carper is emerging as a backroom mediator on the most divisive element of the health care overhaul, proposing a so-called third way that several key senators said Wednesday could provide the blueprint for compromise in the Senate bill.
Carper wants to allow states to individually decide whether to create a private-insurance competitor such as a government plan and a nonprofit insurance cooperative, or to open up state-based insurance pools for government workers to every resident.
It could appeal to Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who has endorsed a similar trigger approach, while bringing in progressives who may not see a way – at this point – to pass a bill through the Senate with a public option.