Thursday's lively summit on healthcare reform won't make or break President Obama's ambitious agenda, experts say. But arm-twisting sessions in back rooms of Congress over the next 48 hours could.
Early reviews suggested neither side scored a "game-changer" Thursday that would alter the political equation.
"This was no Baltimore," commented political expert Dr. Larry J. Sabato, a reference to President Obama's strong performance at the House Republican meeting last month. "The Republicans learned from that earlier encounter. Obama was simply first among equals at today’s table."
The six-and-a-half hour meeting televised at Blair House was promoted as a way for Republicans and Democrats to find common ground. But disputes broke out over whether ObamaCare would raise the cost of insurance premiums, decrease the availability of coverage for seniors, and do further damage to the federal deficit.
One of the more pointed exchanges occurred when the president tried to interrupt his 2008 rival, Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain as he roundly criticized Democrats' proposals. McCain shot back testily, "Can I finish?"
Once McCain completed his remarks, Obama delivered a pointed gibe.
"Let me just make this point, John, because we' not campaigning anymore," Obama said. "The election is over. We can spend the remainder of the time with our respective talking points going back and forth. We were supposed to be talking about insurance."
McCain's droll riposte: "I'm reminded of that every day."
Asked during a break in the summit if he thought a bipartisan deal over healthcare was possible, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., replied with a terse "No."
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6 comments:
Obama and his lap dog, the dynamic duo.
If by "ram it through" you mean "get a majority of votes in Congress like the Constitution intended" then yes.
11am....this procedure wasnt intended by the Constitution, nor to be used this way, nor are the majority's and their votes supposed to be purchased with the backroom deals that compound this bill. Have the dem party wont pass this.....dosent even that send an alarm to your brain?
Yeah, 11:00-- kinda like the illegal immigrant hiding in the trunk of the car as it passes over the border.
The only way this passes is by trickery-- it's already been firmly rejected by the American people.
The dems know that, and they also know that this is the last chance they have to pull off this coup-de-tat, so the people be damned-- rahm it through.
That explains why they picked Biden for vp.......checkmate! We'd be to scared to throw out the illegal alein.
BIDENS GOTTA GO TOO!
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