Democrats were talking tough and expressing confidence as this week wrapped up, that they would be able to move a health reform bill through the Congress in coming weeks.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was especially upbeat - at least in public - about getting a public insurance option in a final bill.

"Anyone who had any doubts about the need for such an option need only look at the behavior of the health insurance industry this week," said Pelosi, who almost seemed like she was ready to put on some body armor and take on the Insurance Dragon herself, ripping a new round of ads from the industry.

"One ad I saw practically said you would lose your hair, your teeth, and your sight if you voted for a public option," Pelosi said at her weekly news conference.

As for what the Senate would do, Pelosi struck a feisty tone as well, basically saying she doesn't give a damn what the Senate is doing right now on a public option.

"I am not into dealing with the politics of the Senate.  They do their policy and their politics.  We need them at the conference table, and that is where we will deal with that."

Senate Democrats will meet again with White House officials on Monday about health reform.  On Thursday, Democrats expressed confidence that they will get a bill through, no matter all the hand-wringing that's going on right now over what should be in a bill.

One interesting item that leaked out was that Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid supposedly told doctor's groups that there would be no medical malpractice reforms in the Democrats' bill.

That means a showdown on that issue for sure on the Senate floor, just one of the many issues that will have to be settled in coming weeks.

As for what's next, there will be more closed door talks involving Democrats.

I do have to chuckle at all the usual outrage about that, like closed door meetings have somehow only been invented by the party that's now in charge of the House or Senate.

It reminded me of 1995, when the Republicans had taken charge of the Congress.  I got a phone call from an outraged Press Secretary to a House Democrat, who was incensed that Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee had been shut out of meetings by the panel's Republicans.

She was huffing and puffing about the "right to know", "sunshine" and more.

But I'm sure if the shoe had been on the other foot, and the Democrats had been in charge, it would have been just like old times, when the Democrats used to meet behind closed doors, keeping the GOP in the dark.

But it sure would be nice to have some CSPAN cameras in those closed door meetings, eh?

One time I got a window into one of those.  But that's a story for another day.