Obama: We Will Get Health Care Reform This Year

President Barack Obama sat down for an exclusive interview with "Good Morning America" anchor Diane Sawyer.

(Jim Carroll/ABC)

Obama Touts Health Care Plan

Earlier today, Obama defended his wide-ranging health care plan but stopped short of saying that he would veto any plan that does not include the widely pilloried "public option" he has been pushing.

"We have not drawn lines in the sand, other than that reform has to control costs and that it has to provide relief to people who don't have health insurance or are under-insured," the president said at a White House press conference.

Pressed on the question of whether a public plan is non-negotiable, the president said that it was not, at least not yet.

"You know, those are the broad parameters that we've discussed. There are a whole host of other issues where ultimately I may have a strong opinion, and I will express those to members of Congress as this is shaping up. It's too early to say that. Right now, I will say that our position is that a public plan makes sense."

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He said it was "not logical" to think that a public option would drive the private insurance industry into the ground.

"If private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best quality health care; if they tell us that they're offering a good deal, then why is it that the government, which they say can't run anything, suddenly is going to drive them out of business? That's not logical," he said.

Obama's Approval Ratings on Health Care Slip

With the health care debate ramping up, with Republicans assailing Democrats for the high price tag and a public option plan, Obama's ratings on the subject slipped slightly in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll. Only 53 percent of Americans approve of Obama's handling of health care while 39 percent disapprove of it, up from 29 percent in April.

Obama continues to enjoy high approval ratings, but his policies may not be as popular. While 65 percent of Americans approve of the president's job performance, less than half of those polled, 47 percent, feel the country is not headed in the right direction, making it the first time since Obama's election that views of the country's course have not improved.