Obama: Horrible Dealmaker

Stories like did where Obama actually believed his bipartisan spin is always amazing. Didn't Obama pay attention to the Republicans he served with in the Senate? Remember all that time the White House wasted trying to win the health care votes from people like Charles "Death Panel" Grassley. A Democratic strategist told David Corn that the White House was repeatedly warned that they would never get any Republican support.

It took "so goddamn long," of course, partly because the president and his aides were overly deferential to Congress—especially to a few Senate Republicans they were trying to rope in. "We told the White House repeatedly," says the Democratic Senate strategist, "that it was a mistake to think they could negotiate with Republicans. They never listened."

Sen. Mike Enzi admitted he only worked with Democrats to delay the health care bill.

"If I hadn't been involved in this process as long as I have and to the depth as I have, you would already have national health care."

The only vote the White House ever got was Olympia Snowe in the Finance Committee. Her vote wasn't needed for passage. Snowe and every Republican voting against the final health care legislation. I wonder if Obama still believes in bipartisanship.

Dodd Fact-Checks Republicans

Sen. Chris Dodd blasts Republicans for false claims that they were not included in the health care bill writing process. Dodd proves this by noting Sen. Mike Enzi wrote 41 amendments to the Senate bill. He notes the irony of Republicans wanting to help write a a public option health care bill. Republicans stating from the get go they would not vote for any bill containing the public option.

Obama Ready For Another Round of Bipartisanship

The so-called bipartisan Republican Senators Charles Grassley and Mike Enzi embarrassed the White House by revealing they were never committed to a health care bill. Grassley spreaded the death panel myth. Enzi admitted his only goal was to delay a health care bill. CNN's Ed Henry reports Obama is now reaching out to Olympia Snowe.

My colleague Dana Bash and I have learned from a source, each one of us, that this White House right now is very quietly in serious conversations with Republican Senator Olympia Snowe, a key moderate.

She is basically the last Republican out of those gang of six senators who have been negotiating, really the last Republican that has an open line to this White House right now.

What we're hearing that she's talking about with White House staff is sort of a scaled-back bill that would focus on insurance reforms that both sides could agree to, but would not have a full public option, instead, would have a so-called trigger. What that means in layman's terms is basically that the insurance companies would have a couple of years to make some dramatic changes.

If they do not make those changes, then a public option would be triggered. So, it would be used down the road. They would hope that this would appease liberals by saying it's not completely off the table. And the big hope is that this could bring along another moderate Republican, like maybe Susan Collins of Maine, some conservative Democrats, like Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu in the Senate, who don't want a public option, but would sort of potentially be open to a trigger like this.

The trigger means there will be a delay of years into taking action on health care. If costs run too high then a trigger mechanism will take effect. Costs of private insurance are already out of control. The Kaiser Family Foundation chart shows premiums rising 68.2 percent from 2001 to 2006.

Quote of the Day

"If I hadn't been involved in this process as long as I have and to the depth as I have, you would already have national health care."

Senator Mike Enzi, a so-called bipartisan member of the Gang of Six.

Can we end the nonsense about the Republicans having any interest in being bipartisan.

The Differences In How Obama & Frank Deal With the Right

Evidence that Barack Obama still doesn't get it. White House Press Sec. Robert Gibbs said the President believes Charles Grassley, Olympia Snowe and Mike Enzi are working "in good faith" on health care reform. The last time Obama praised Grassley, The Senator said Democrats were advocating euthanasia.

“You have every right to fear. You shouldn’t have counseling at the end of life, you should have done that 20 years before. Should not have a government run plan to decide when to pull the plug on grandma.”

Enzi wrote an op-ed in USA Today against Obama's plan.

According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, a government-run component would actually increase health care spending, cause millions of people to lose the care they like and have, and add trillions to the national debt.

For millions of Americans, the government-run plan would turn into a bureaucratic nightmare, with the efficiency and customer service of the Department of Motor Vehicles or the IRS. Washington bureaucrats would literally decide whether patients would live or die by rationing newer, more expensive therapies.

A CBO report found only 9 million would switch to the pubnlic option. One of the cost savings not calculatyed by CBO is hospitals spent $35 billion in uninsured care. Hospitals paston this cost is passed on to the insured. Preventive and more insured care will lower costs.



Snowe argued in favor of Americans continuing to pay for overpriced insurance.

"If you establish a public option at the forefront that goes head-to-head and competes with the private health insurance market ... the public option will have significant price advantages," Snowe said. But this was her argument against making the public option available as soon as the bill becomes law.

Grassley, Enzi and Snowe will never back a public option. Democrats know this. Obama continues to court the right out some bizarre need for their personal approval. It is disturbing.

Rep. Barney Frank has the correct idea. A female tea bagger referred to health care reform as a "Nazi policy" and held a photoshop picture of Obama as Hitler. Frank asked, "What planet do you spend most of your time."

That is the way to deal with the nutcases. Obama wants to win their approval and feels the progressive base is not important. The result is Senate Democrats abandoning health care reform. Great strategy, Mr. President.