Obama's Annual Health Care Show: Will There Be Smocks?

Maybe this is going to be sort of an annual thing for Obama. The last one he convened was back in March 2009. Will there be smocks this time? Maybe if the GOP holds out, they can get red ones handed out this time around? heh!

Today, the president begins to fulfill that promise, joined by engaged Americans, Democratic and Republican members of Congress, doctors and nurses, business and labor, insurers and hospital associations.

Even the NY Times can't resist pointing out this is mostly a bit of political theater.

Mr. Obama made the announcement in an interview on CBS during the Super Bowl pre-game show, capitalizing on a vast television audience. He set out a plan that would put Republicans on the spot to offer their own ideas on health care and show whether both sides are willing to work together.

As Hugh Hewitt points out, David Plouffe isn't back at the WH for nothing. The health care debate has raged for a year on his own side of the aisle. Suddenly a half day gathering is meant to resolve something? The O-fficial 2010 election season has surely begun.

The president has called for a bipartisan health care summit.  I suppose I am too suspicious, but I suspect this is part of the great pivot --from blaming George W. Bush for all of the Obama Administration failures of 2009 to blaming you for all of the Obama Administration failures of 2010.  After all, David Plouffe didn't come back in to manage Congressional relations.

President Obama could be serious.  He has, after all, allocated an entire half day to the effort.

Comments

[daveinboca]

Yup, it's the finger-pointing blame game that the Dems specialize in so well. Trying to implant that meme/trope/theme that the Republicans have nothing to offer. The Republicans should offer insurance company policy expansion from state-wide to nation-wide and when the Dems reject that, call the :Dems the "Party of No."

[Jeff]

So Obama gets some GOP leaders/spokespersons, Harry and Nancy and some other "heavywieght" Dem talkers in a room and nobody see the comedy gold and campaign ad treasure trove that is sure to ensue ? and no podium for Obama to lord over the proceedings ...
The entire point of this is for the GOP to air their ideas and Obama is hooping to be able to shoot them down. Really, is that his plan ? With Harry and Nancy as his bench ?

The GOP has nothing to fear by laying out 3 or 4 simple ideas and seeing what sort of verbal gymnastics the Dems and Obama go thru to try and dismiss them. It is a myth that Obama can talk his way out of anything. Americans have some clear ideas about health care problems. For the great majority of Americans (about 75%) access or coverage is not one of them. Its about costs and: tort reform, portability and ownership all attack that problem. Oh, and as icing they also help with coverage (cheaper=more can afford it) and pre-existing conditions (no gaps in coverage if you own it).

[Lightwave]

Eric Cantor already gave his response: Scrap the bills in Congress that a majority of Americans hate. Get everyone behind the GOP House plan like the Republicans offered six months ago and the Dems said "no thanks."

Since Ohubris wont do it, there will be no health care reform. And that'll fall across the neck of the Dems, 100%.

Republican Congress in 2010. 100% certainty of that.

[mark l.]

target date was for healthcare kicking in at 2013.

the gimmick was that they were going to start saving to pay for it, and pretend it was deficit neutral. Looks like the savings window just got shorter.

(i'm guessing that the only reason they haven't opened up the floodgates on the tarp money(aside from an issue of legality) and are slow to revamp the 500 billion of unspent stimulus, is so that they can later say...

"look, we found 750 billion dollars for healthcare."{not to be confuse with the 500 billion dollars in 'savings' to be found in medicare, that will only be extracted if it pays for a healthcare plan.}

wouldn't shock me to see dems try 'another' run at healthcare, with the promise of not raising ANY taxes.

the sick part of this money stuck in the govt couch cushions is that it has already been added to the deficit, so if they spend it on healthcare, they will try and argue that it is deficit neutral. my resentment of the wh would not really grow if they chose this ploy, as it would be the fault of the msm for providing the coverage.

[mark l.]

"I suppose I am too suspicious, but I suspect this is part of the great pivot --from blaming George W. Bush for all of the Obama Administration failures of 2009 to blaming you for all of the Obama Administration failures of 2010."

some irony to be found in this...

a black president going after a minority party, using them as a scapegoat.

ps-murtha is dead.