Obama 'ready to draw line in the sand' on health reform

Sep 7 2009

As the President prepares for his Wednesday night address to Congress about health reform, news coverage today focused on what he might say and what others are advising him to do.

The Associated Press: "White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says President Barack Obama is considering his own health care legislation to cut through the stalemate on Capitol Hill. Gibbs says Americans will know exactly where the president stands after his speech to Congress on Wednesday night. He says Obama is ready to 'draw some lines in the sand.'" Gibbs appeared on ABC's "This Week" (9/6).

CNN: "The White House emphasized Friday that no formal bill has been written. 'The president has been reviewing all of the various legislative proposals, but no decision has been made about whether formal legislation will be presented," said Dan Pfeiffer, deputy communications director. A source close to the White House said the administration is leaning toward dropping the public option, and continues to zero in on persuading Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe to come on board."

"The source said the bill that would be presented to Snowe would leave out a public option but include a trigger provision that could lead to the introduction of a new government-run insurance plan under certain circumstances. The legislation would cover most, though not all, of the 46 million uninsured Americans. It would also include popular insurance reforms, such as ending the insurance industry practice of using pre-existing conditions to deny coverage" (Yellin, Borger, Henry, Bash, 9/5).

In a separate analysis, The Associated Press says: "As Congress returns to work this week, President Barack Obama and lawmakers have three broad options — competing treatment plans for a patient whose vital signs are growing weak. ... Democrats — and liberals in particular — want heroic measures and large scale intervention. They think the legislation needs big new ideas such as a public insurance plan that would have government offering coverage to middle-class workers and their families."

"Republicans (are) ... proposing help for small business owners and the self-employed, and some GOP lawmakers probably could go along with expanding current programs that cover the poorest of the poor.
A third group, including moderates from both parties, supports a holistic approach that would put the country firmly on track to coverage for all. They believe government should help some middle-class people through subsidies for private coverage, but that a federal insurance plan isn't needed" (Alonso-Zaldivar, 9/5). 

In a front-page story headlined "Clinton's Health Defeat Sways Obama Tactics," The New York Times reports: "In 1994, Democrats' dysfunction over fulfilling a new president's campaign promise contributed to the party's loss of its 40-year dominance of Congress. Now that memory is being revived, and it is the message the White House and Congressional leaders will press when lawmakers return this week, still divided and now spooked after the turbulent town-hall-style meetings, downbeat polls and distortions of August."

"Republicans early on united behind the lesson they took from the past struggle, that they stand to gain politically in next year's elections if Democrats do nothing. But the Democrats' version similarly resonates with all party factions, giving Mr. Obama perhaps his best leverage to unify them to do something. In now-familiar financial parlance, this one is 'too big to fail'" (Calmes, 9/5).