Obama on healthcare bill: Flexibility on details, not results

After the White House meeting, key Democrats and Republicans said a compromise may be emerging on one of the biggest disputes - whether to create a government-sponsored health plan to compete with private insurers. The compromise would create nonprofit health cooperatives owned by groups of patients, similar to how electric or other cooperatives operate, and without the government involvement that troubles Republicans and business groups about the public plan.

The senators said Obama, who plans to make the case for a healthcare overhaul to the American Medical Association Monday in Chicago, was willing to listen to all sides but insisted that Congress must pass a bill this year that reins in costs and helps provide coverage to nearly 50 million uninsured people.

"The one thing he wouldn't accept was not getting the job done," said Senator Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat. "He was flexible on anything but the final conclusion. He wants the job done."

Dodd is filling in for the ailing Senator Edward M. Kennedy, chairman of the health committee, which starts working on a 651-page bill next week.

A senior Republican who recently criticized Obama also sounded positive. "The president, I thought, was very flexible except on one thing, and that was getting it done," said Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Finance Committee, which is drafting its own bill. "When the president is flexible on controversial things . . . I think that that's good news."

Senators of both parties agree on many big issues, including getting all Americans covered and prohibiting insurance industry practices that deny coverage to people with health problems. But the are major disagreements over financing, requiring employers to offer coverage, and whether the government should sponsor a healthcare plan to compete with private insurers.

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The top Senate Republican blasted Democrats' decision to schedule mid-July hearings for Sotomayor's confirmation, while another senior GOP senator floated the possibility of a filibuster by angry Republicans against President Obama's first high court nominee.

"They want the shortest timeline in recent memory for someone with the longest judicial record in recent memory," said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who warned of unspecified "consequences." "This violates basic standards of fairness and it prevents senators from carrying out one of their most solemn duties."

Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said many Republicans may end up voting against Sotomayor because they feel they haven't had time to learn enough about her. GOP senators say Sotomayor left key documents out of her response to a questionnaire on her background, writings, and rulings.

The opening date for the Judiciary Committee hearings will be 48 days after Obama named Sotomayor.

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When the Gallup survey asked respondents to name the "main person who speaks for the Republican Party today," 52 percent could not name anyone.

Even among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 47 percent could not pick a single person. And among those party leaders who were named, only one of the top six - Senator John McCain, the GOP presidential nominee last year - is now in elected office.

Leading the pack among Republican respondents were talk show host Rush Limbaugh and former House speaker Newt Gingrich at 10 percent each, former vice president Dick Cheney at 9 percent, and McCain at 6 percent. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney each drew 2 percent.

None of the other names being mentioned as possible presidential contenders in 2012 - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the vice presidential nominee last year, for instance - made the list.

Democrats, on the other hand, had little trouble identifying their leader.

Obama led at 67 percent, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi drew 6 percent and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at 3 percent.

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