Obama vows to fight for health care overhaul
WASHINGTON -- President Obama pushed back hard against critics of his health care overhaul plan Monday, vowing to fight "the politics of the moment" and press for passage of legislation by the end of the year.
"We can't afford the politics of delay and defeat when it comes to health care," Obama said after meeting with doctors, nurses and other health care workers at Children's National Medical Center. "There are too many lives and livelihoods at stake."
Without mentioning his critic by name, the president recounted a recent comment by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.: "If we're able to stop Obama on this, then it will be his Waterloo — it will break him."
"Think about that," Obama responded. "This isn't about me. This isn't about politics. It is about a health care system that is breaking American families."
Obama's comments represented his first acknowledgment that passage of a health care overhaul will not meet the August deadline he tried to impose on Congress.
The president is struggling to advance his proposal after a period of progress. Two of three House committees have approved their portions of the bill, while one of two Senate panels have acted. Conservative Democrats have raised objections to some elements of the legislation, and efforts in the Senate to reach a bipartisan agreement have yet to bear fruit.
In the Senate, however, negotiators seeking a bipartisan compromise reported progress Monday. Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said there's tentative agreement on four big policy issues out of a list of about one dozen. He would not elaborate.
Separately, senators are discussing a variation on the idea of taxing high-cost health insurance benefits. The proposal would not raise taxes on individuals and families. Instead, insurers and employers who offer the benefits would pay the tax. Advocates say such a tax would encourage people to be thriftier consumers of health care. Prospects are uncertain.
Further adding to Obama's challenges, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll out Monday finds that 44% of Americans approve of the way he is handling health care policy. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll likewise shows approval of Obama's handling of health care slipping below 50% for the first time.
Obama plans to focus on health care the rest of this month. He will hold a news conference at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, plans a series of interviews and will take his case to Cleveland on Thursday.
Obama spoke Monday after the chairman of the Republican Party called the president's health care plan "socialism," and accused him of conducting a risky experiment that will hurt the economy and force millions to drop their coverage.
Michael Steele, in remarks at the National Press Club, also said the president, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and key congressional committee chairmen are part of a "cabal" that wants to implement government-run health care.
"Obama-Pelosi want to start building a colossal, closed health care system where Washington decides. Republicans want and support an open health care system where patients and doctors make the decisions," Steele said.
Republican officials said they were supplementing Steele's speech with a round of television advertising designed to oppose government-run health care. The 30-second commercial, titled "Grand Experiment," criticizes recent government aid to the auto industry and banks as "the biggest spending spree in our history" and warns similarly of "a risky experiment with our health care."
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation's largest business group, planned to announce ads of its own Tuesday criticizing the government-run insurance proposal, saying it would threaten employer-provided coverage.
R. Bruce Josten, the group's top lobbyist, said the campaign would begin with a $2 million budget and include newspaper and Internet ads, as well as efforts to drum up public support across the country. The ads will appear in Capitol Hill newspapers beginning Tuesday, then in coming days be placed in newspapers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Colorado, Nebraska and other states where lawmakers are wavering on the subject.
Citing liberal and labor groups that have run ads criticizing Democrats who have not endorsed the health care effort, Josten said, "It's time to push back a little bit."
Separately, the insurance industry, which challenged President Bill Clinton's health care effort in the early 1990s, launched a $1.4 million ad campaign, its first TV ads of this year's health care fight. The multimillion-dollar campaign, being aired nationally on cable stations, restates the industry's support for an overhaul that provides universal coverage and its offer to cover people who are already sick. The ad campaign does not mention the insurers' strong opposition to creating a government-run insurance option.
Obama has said he does not favor a government-run health care system. Legislation taking shape in the House envisions private insurance companies selling coverage in competition with the government.
Contributing: The Associated Press