President Obama to Capitol Hill to Push for Health Care Bill

[cal04]

Source: ABC News

President Obama plans to go to Capitol Hill on Sunday to bolster Democratic support for health care reform legislation as the debate on the bill reaches a critical point.

In a rare weekend session, senators debated the president's health care overhaul bill Saturday as the Democrats' self-imposed deadline to pass health care legislation by the end of this year approaches.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid opened the Saturday session arguing Americans don't get weekends off from losing their health insurance.

"The American people don't get weekends off from this injustice," Reid, D-Nev., said on the Senate floor. "Bankruptcy doesn't keep bankers' hours. They don't go away just because it's Sunday or Saturday. The pain is still there and so our work continues this weekend. It will continue until we give this nation's citizens a health insurance system that works for them."

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-obama-hill-sunday-push-health-care-bill/story?id=9258180

[polichick]

1. Sure hope he muscles the "centrists" and not those who want real reform! nt

[MNDemNY]

2. He will be lobbying the latter.

telling them why any old bill will do, he needs a win, bad. And it will be...BAD.

[polichick]

3. It's already watered down so much - I'd love to see him do the right thing...

...rather than the political thing.

[MNDemNY]

4. As would I.

But , alas, he has long since folded.

[parasearchers]

11. He's worthless.

[truedelphi]

13. Yep he is worthless to those of us who

Understand what a piece of crap this piece of legislation is.

But he is priceless to the Corporatists. He has gotten what he wants - a pledge from the MIC that it will be Ditzy Palin as his opposition in 2012.

[Mithreal]

8. Why muscle your own thugs?

[polichick]

9. Know what ya mean. Just trying to be hopeful - hope was his word, right? nt

[MNDemNY]

10. "Hope" is all that was left in the bottom of Pandora's Box, remember?

[PSPS]

5. President Rorschach on the march!

He'll likely be "lobbying" the liberal caucus to put aside their petty desires for something like, you know, worthwhile or meaningful. I'm sure he has a vacation or getaway or a "date night" he'd much rather be doing.

[groundloop]

6. "debated the president's health care overhaul bill" - WRONG

It's not President Obama's bill, it's the Senate's bill. Media seem to always forget that President Obama is in charge of the executive branch, he has no real authority over the other two branches of government. I wish President Obama could have written the bill, but unfortunately that's the House and Senate's jobs and the Senate not only has the fillibuster threat to contend with, but a few douche bags like Joe Liberman and friends to complicate things.

[katandmoon]

7. Gotta get himself that bill signing photo op on the Hawaiian beach! Oh, and gotta get

all those new mandated customers for the health insurance industry!

The rest of us can go pound sand.

[placton]

12. Obama is great at public appearances

he will take credit for the (very very few) good parts of the bill as "his," and later claim the bad parts (the other 98%) were "not his fault." Sigh.

[cal04]

14. Obama heads to Hill to push on health bill

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_health_care_overhaul

(snip)
The president's planned appearance at a Senate Democratic caucus meeting Sunday afternoon answers appeals from a number of lawmakers eager for him to step in and help Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., finish the job.

"That is what the president is supposed to do, to use his bully pulpit," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. Until now, "I haven't seen much of it," Harkin said Saturday.



http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34297603/ns/politics-washington_post/

(snip)
President Obama is scheduled to visit the Capitol on Sunday to rally Democrats to overcome lingering disputes, including the major flashpoints of abortion and a government-run insurance option. But other unresolved issues that have attracted less public attention pose a direct threat to deals cut by the White House months ago to appease the American Hospital Association, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and other industry groups whose opposition proved lethal to President Bill Clinton's 1994 quest for health-care reform.

Although those agreements helped to clear a political path for reform to move forward, many Democrats view them as overly generous.