Conflicting Signals From White House Mar Health Care Reform Progress

Aug. 23, 2009 — -- Neither the president nor Sarah Palin were talking Sunday, but they were talked about.

Referring to the White House's health care reform, former Alaska Gov. Palin has said President Obama would set up death panels that could encourage euthanasia. Asked about the ongoing debate on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos" Sunday morning, an uneasy Sen. John McCain refused to condemn his former running mate for what the president has called "an extraordinary lie."

George Stephanopoulos asked, "So you think Sarah Palin was right?"

The Rep. Arizona Senator responded, "Look, I don't think they were called death panels, don't get me wrong. I don't think that, but it does open it up to decisions being made that should be left, those choices left to the patient and the individual."

The president has said that what he supports is having older patients meet with their doctors every five years to discuss end-of-life care and that those consultations should be covered by insurance. The purpose of the consultations would be to inform patients, not make decisions for them.

McCain and other Republicans said they will negotiate on health care reform if the president drops the public- or government-run insurance option.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday morning that the White House has made compromise difficult.

"The president [has] told me lots of times he wants bipartisanship, and part of the problem is you get conflicting signals out of the White House," he said.

The president and his surrogates appear to have intentionally sent conflicting signals: Fearful of losing liberals in the House, the White House says it wants an option for government-run insurance; fearful of losing moderates votes in the Senate, the president signals he is willing to consider other options.

The White House hopes that even if the two Houses pass very different bills, they will then work out a compromise.

Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute said, "This is an explicit strategy to be ambiguous. The White House has always known that if it sets lines in the dust, it's going to end with conflicts and probably end up striking out."