On talk radio, Obama stands by health care plan

WASHINGTON – President Barack ObamaBarack Obama guaranteed Thursday that his health care overhaul will win approval and said any bill he signs will have to reduce rapidly rising costs, protect consumers from insurance abuses and provide affordable choices to the uninsured — while not adding to the federal deficit.

Obama listed those four "bullet points" as his basic requirements in response to a question from a caller to a Philadelphia-based talk radio show. Host Michael Smerconish interviewed Obama at the White House during the show and Obama took questions from several listeners.

Another caller said he sensed the administration's "knees are bucklin' a little bit" under criticism of the proposals. Obama said he was as determined as ever and "I guarantee you, Joe, we are going to get health care reform done."

"Choice, competition, reducing cost, those are the things I want to see accomplished in this health care bill," Obama said.

The president insisted there has been no change in the administration's position that a government option for health insurance coverage should be considered as part of legislation to overhaul the system.

Responding to a question from Smerconish, Obama said, "The press got excited and some folks on the left got a little excited" when the administration last weekend made statements indicating that a federally run health insurance option was just one of several alternatives.

"Our position hasn't changed," he said.

Obama's appearance on the conservative talk radio show came as the administration sought to regain the momentum in the health care fight. He also planned later Thursday to speak at an online rally intended to re-energize activists who were instrumental is his drive to the presidency.

While Obama insists he's still looking for Republican support for a comprehensive health care bill, Democrats privately are preparing a one-party push, which they feel is all but inevitable.

On Wednesday, Obama urged religious leaders to back his proposals, arguing that health coverage for Americans is a "core ethical and moral obligation." Polls continued to show slippage in support for the president's approach, although respondents expressed even less confidence in Republicans' handling of health care.

Vice President Joe BidenJoe Biden met with health care professionals in Chicago on Thursday and planned to announce nearly $1.2 billion in grants to help hospitals transition to electronic medical records. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen SebeliusKathleen Sebelius was joining him.

Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt RomneyMitt Romney said Thursday that Obama is struggling to get a health care bill because he has been too deferential to liberals. Romney, who may challenge Obama in 2012, said on CBS' "The Early Show" that "if the president wants to get something done, he needs to put aside the extreme liberal wing of his party."

Some Democrats say a strong-arm tactic on Senate health care legislation that would negate the need for any GOP votes might be more effective than previously thought.

The legislative tactic, called "reconciliation," would allow senators to get around a bill-killing filibuster without mustering the 60 votes usually needed. Democrats control 60 of the Senate's 100 seats, but some moderate Senate Democrats have expressed reservations about Obama's plan.

Two Democrats — Robert ByrdRobert Byrd of West Virginia and Edward KennedyEdward Kennedy of Massachusetts — are seriously ill and often absent. Kennedy sent a letter Tuesday to Massachusetts leaders asking that they change state law to allow someone to be quickly appointed to his seat in Congress "should a vacancy occur."

While always contentious, reconciliation lets the Senate pass some measures with a simple majority vote. Non-budget-related items can be challenged, however, and some lawmakers say reconciliation would knock so many provisions from Obama's health care plan that the result would be "Swiss cheese."

Still, Jim ManleyJim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry ReidSenate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., warned Republicans Wednesday that reconciliation is a real option. The White House and Senate Democratic leaders still prefer a bipartisan bill, he said, but "patience is not unlimited and we are determined to get something done this year by any legislative means necessary."

In a conference call with liberal religious leaders Wednesday, Obama disputed claims that Democratic bills would create government "death panels" for the elderly, offer health care for illegal immigrants or fund abortions.

"I know that there's been a lot of misinformation in this debate and there are a some folks out there who are, frankly, bearing false witness," Obama said. "I need you to spread the facts and speak the truth."

Administration officials and congressional Democrats were deeply discouraged this week when key Republican lawmakers seemed more critical than ever about various Democratic-drafted health care bills pending in the House and Senate. They said they still hope Senate Finance Committee efforts to craft a bipartisan compromise can succeed, although private remarks were more pessimistic.