Word: bipartisan
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...While the next three days are sure to be dominated by even more posturing, the reform plan that Democrats appear to have settled on closely resembles the most bipartisan version developed throughout the past year: the Senate Finance Committee bill. It's been tweaked and stretched and has gotten somewhat more expensive but, in essence, this is the legislation that Democrats hope to pass. Though the notorious bipartisan Gang of Six disbanded before the final bill was written, the basic structure of the legislation was developed with Republican input. It even got a Republican vote when it was passed...
...That much is clear in the run-up to the bipartisan health care summit that President Obama is scheduled to host on Thursday - and in the reaction to the compromise plan he put out to start the week. For better or worse, there now seems to be room only for partisan posturing, jockeying, optics and framing. If Democrats win this game, they may still be able to pass health reform. If Republicans prevail, they will hand Obama a stunning defeat that could set the tone for the 2010 midterm elections. (See pictures of the health care debate...
...Eric Cantor sent the White House an open letter calling on the President to scrap the existing Democratic reform bills and "start over." This idea gained no traction, and Republicans realized they could not skip the meeting - it's hard politically to turn down an invitation to be bipartisan. Boehner then sent a follow-up open letter deriding congressional Democrats for "plotting legislative trickery" to pass health reform. (See 10 health care reform players...
...major driver of rising health care costs.) In a sign of how little value Obama places on Republican votes at this point - or how unobtainable he believes them to be - the White House reform plan includes a large new tax on unearned income. (Read "Can Obama Rebuild Bipartisan Trust...
...Obama can fight for a breakthrough - bipartisan or otherwise - on health care or education, display a muscular handling of an unexpected foreign policy crisis or recruit some significant new blood into his Administration. Maybe he'll get lucky and see some long-awaited improvement of the economy, in terms of jobs and wages. (See "Can Obama Rebuild Bipartisan Trust...