Research Briefing

Obama To Use Feb 25 Summit As “Political Theater” To Attack Republicans, Push His Government Takeover Of Health Care

OBAMA INVITED GOP LEADERS TO BIPARTISAN HEALTH CARE SUMMIT IN TWO WEEKS “‘I want to consult closely with our Republican colleagues so, they’re going to be coming into the White House next week,’ the president told CBS News' Katie Couric on Sunday afternoon … The meeting of the bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate will actually be on Thursday, February 25 …  and it will be at the Blair House, across the street from the White House. A White House official said it will be televised live.” (Jake Tapper, “President To Host Bipartisan Health Care Reform Meeting Later This Month,” ABC News’s “Political Punch” Blog, 2/7/10)

BUT OBAMA DOESN’T INTEND START OVER WITH GOP IDEAS, PLANS TO PUSH GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE BILLS AMERICANS HAVE REJECTED …

“[I]n Fact, Obama Hopes To Walk Into The Feb. 25 Summit With An Agreement In Hand Between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid On A Final Democratic Bill, So They Can Move Ahead With A Reform Package After The Sit Down.” (Carrie Budoff Brown & Patrick O’Connor, “No High Hopes For Health Care Summit,” Politico, 2/9/10)

• OBAMA’S HHS SECRETARY KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: “A Lot Of People Ask If This Is Starting Over (On A Health Overhaul), The Answer Is Absolutely Not…” (Phil Galewitz, “Sebelius To GOP: 'Don't Get Wrong Impression' About Obama Health Summit,” Kaiser Health News, 2/8/10)
  
  
• OBAMA’S PRESS SECRETARY ROBERT GIBBS: “He's Been Very Clear About His Support For The House And Senate Bills Because Of What They Achieve For The American People …” (Michael D. Shear, “Top House Republicans Throw Cold Water On Health-Care Summit,” The Washington Post’s “44” Blog, 2/8/10)

But Americans Still Overwhelmingly Disapprove Of Obama Democrats’ Health Care Experiment. “In an interview with CBS News on Feb. 7, prior to the Super Bowl, the president made a surprise call for a half-day, bipartisan, nationally televised summit on healthcare. The political need for Obama to make such a bold move is underscored by his relatively low 36% approval rating on his handling of healthcare. Obama's healthcare approval rating is statistically little different from the 37% he received last month, but the two ratings are the lowest of his administration.” (Frank Newport, “Obama Approval On Economy Down, On Foreign Affairs Up,” Gallup, 2/9/10)

AND WANTS TO USE SUMMIT AS “POLITICAL THEATER” AND “TRAP” REPUBLICANS

The Associated Press: “Obama’s Health Care Summit: Just For Show? Could This Turn Into Something More Than Political Theater?” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “Obama’s Health Care Summit,” The Associated Press, 2/81/0)

Obama’s Summit Part Of Dems’ Electoral Strategy To Distract Americans From Their Failures By Attacking Republicans. “President Obama's call for a televised bipartisan meeting to discuss stalled healthcare legislation comes as his party unfolds a strategy to force Republicans to put policy ideas on the table that Democrats believe they can exploit in the fall elections.” (James Oliphant And Noam N. Levey, “Obama Health Summit Sets Up A Showdown,” The Los Angeles Times, 2/8/10)

• Summit Obama’s Way Of “Laying A Trap” For Republicans. “Even as Republicans publicly welcome President Barack Obama's call for a bipartisan confab on health care, some privately worry that he might be laying a trap to portray their ideas as flimsy.” (Charles Babington, “GOP Weary Of Pitfalls In Obama’s Health Care Summit,” The Associated Press, 2/9/10)

Goal For White House: Use Summit To Give Obama, Congressional Dems Boost In Polls. “It's also an opportunity for Mr. Obama to reclaim his image as someone out to change how Washington works, to engage his critics and to answer those who say he has broken his pledge to hold negotiations over a health-care bill in public. … The White House now hopes that a better, more public process will boost public support and give congressional Democrats enough confidence to pass the bill, using a parliamentary procedure that requires just 51 Senate votes.” (Laura Meckler, “Leverage Sought In Health Summit,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/8/10)

• “[D]emocrats Hope The Summit Could Provide Them Political Cover To Go It Alone On A Party-Line Vote If Republicans Say They Won’t Provide Any Votes For An Obama-Style Health Fix.” (Carrie Budoff Brown & Patrick O’Connor, “No High Hopes For Health Care Summit,” Politico, 2/9/10)

Obama “Gambling” Government-Run Health Care Bills On “Hyped Showdown” With GOP. “I've been racking my brain all morning, but I really can't come up with another example of a president gambling major legislation on a televised, hyped showdown with the leadership of the minority party. Congressional Democrats have been begging Obama to involve himself more directly, but this is the most aggressive presidential intervention into an ongoing legislative debate that I can remember. Can anyone think of anything even slightly comparable, or is this the opening of an entirely new playbook?” (Ezra Klein, “There’s Something New Under The Sun,” The Washington Post’s “Ezra Klein” Blog, 2/8/10)

JUST ANOTHER P.R. MOVE FROM THE P.R. PRESIDENCY

Summit Possibly No “More Than Political Theater.” “Could this turn into something more than political theater?... Republicans say they were notified by the White House on Sunday, a couple of hours before a CBS News interview in which Obama floated the proposal. Usually, White House schedulers call congressional leaders well in advance of major meetings.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “Obama's Health Care Summit: Just for Show?” The Associated Press, 2/8/10)

“So What’s The Point? A Jaded Washington Wondered How A Single Meeting — In Front Of Live TV Cameras, No Less — Could Change The Fundamentals Of The Debate. Many Concluded It Won’t.” (Carrie Budoff Brown & Patrick O’Connor, “No High Hopes For Health Care Summit,” Politico, 2/9/10)

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) Thinks The Meeting Is A Waste Of Time. “On Monday, Mr. Weiner suggested that Mr. Obama was wasting his time with a planned bipartisan summit meeting on health care, offering the president a dose of old-fashioned Brooklyn sarcasm. Representative Anthony Weiner in his Brooklyn office in January. ‘Good luck with that,’ he said in a statement on the proposed talks with Republicans.” (David Herszenhorn, “Weiner On Bipartisanship: ‘Good Luck With That,’” The New York Times’s “Prescriptions” Blog, 2/8/10)

Mason-Dixon Research’s Brad Coker Is “Skeptical” Public Opinion Will Turn Because The Meeting Is Televised. “Brad Coker, managing partner at Mason-Dixon Research, a polling firm, said he's ‘skeptical’ that televising the conference would noticeably shift public opinion. ‘When you have so many opposed, you don't turn around that kind of number with one little TV show.’” (David Lightman, “Obama's Health Summit Faces Long Odds Against Success,” McClatchy Newspapers, 2/8/10)

• Coker: “This Summit Is A Publicity Stunt, Because This All Gets Done Behind Closed Doors…” (David Lightman, “Obama's Health Summit Faces Long Odds Against Success,” McClatchy Newspapers, 2/8/10)

Some Question Why Obama’s “Wasting His Time With Yet Another Summit” On Health Care Reform. “About a year ago, President Obama kick started the health care debate by hosting a bipartisan summit… Fast forward to February 2010, and a lot of people in Washington--liberals, Democrats, even some pundits--are asking a question: Why is President Obama wasting his time with yet another summit. After all, he tried this a year ago and...well, just look how well that's paid off.” (Brian Beutler, “Been There, Done That? Why This Year's Health Care Summit Will Be Different From Last Year's,” Talking Points Memo’s “TPMDC” Blog, 2/8/10)

• “Yes, Both Last Year's Event And This Years Are Billed As ‘Health Care Summits’. But Beyond That, It's Really An Apples To Oranges Comparison.” (Brian Beutler, “Been There, Done That? Why This Year's Health Care Summit Will Be Different From Last Year's,” Talking Points Memo’s “TPMDC” Blog, 2/8/10)

“[I]t's Still Not Clear How The Summit Would Help Democrats Rescue Their Legislation, Which Has Been Stuck Since Their Defeat In A Senate Race In Massachusetts Last Month.” (Laura Meckler, “Leverage Sought In Health Summit,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/8/10)