Obama engages Republicans, appeals for bipartisanship

The two-hour session was part of a renewed drive by the White House to create legislation by consensus. After the meeting, the president paid a surprise visit to the White House press room to brief reporters.

He accused Republicans of indiscriminate obstruction that he said has created legislative gridlock, especially in the Senate, but he also called on Democratic leaders to “put aside matters of party for the good of the country.’’

Obama outlined issues that could bridge the divide, including job creation, health care, energy, and trade. But he extracted few concrete commitments from his GOP visitors.

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll suggests the public is frustrated by the bickering and recriminations. According to the survey, 57 percent of Americans consider the loss of the Senate Democrats’ filibuster-proof supermajority a “good thing,’’ but few think Republicans should wield their new power to block bills frequently. Nearly six in 10 say Republicans are not doing enough to forge compromise with Obama on important issues, while nearly half view the president as doing too little to overcome differences with the GOP.

On the issue of health care, public attitudes about the stalled Democratic legislation remain virtually deadlocked. But 63 percent want Congress to keep trying to tackle the issue.

A major test of whether Obama’s new strategy will yield legislative results could come when the Senate takes up a job-creation bill.

Senators Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and Charles Grassley of Iowa - senior Republicans who walked away from health care talks last year - have been heavily involved in drafting the legislation but are reluctant to sign on to the bill unless it attracts broad GOP support.

Last night, Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate majority leader, announced that snowstorms made continued legislative action all but impossible, and put off its formal introduction and a final vote until later this month.

Obama has reached out to Republicans on overhauling health care by inviting them to participate in a bipartisan summit Feb. 25. GOP leaders have expressed wariness that the event will amount to little more than political theater and so far have not committed to attending.

During the White House meeting, Obama said, he told the House minority leader, John Boehner of Ohio, that his core goals of lowering health care costs and expanding coverage for the uninsured remain nonnegotiable, but the president said he will consider GOP alternatives that accomplish the same results.

Boehner said after the session that House Republicans “would like to attend the meeting. We are interested in having these bipartisan conversations and look forward to continuing conversations with the administration. We are considering it.’’

Obama told reporters he would sign what he considered to be a less-than-perfect health care bill. “I am going to be starting from scratch in the sense that I will be open to any ideas that help promote these goals,’’ he said. “Let’s get the relevant parties together. Let’s put the best ideas on the table. My hope is that we can find enough overlap that we can say, ‘This is the right way to move forward, even if I don’t get every single thing that I want.’ ’’

Aides said Boehner and Obama sparred over how bipartisan legislation should take shape. “You just want to kill all of these bills,’’ Obama said, according to the notes of a Republican who attended the meeting.

“No, you are wrong,’’ Boehner replied, pledging to make an effort to reach consensus on issues such as health care and energy.

Obama did express interest in Republican proposals to expand nuclear power and domestic oil and gas exploration, positions not popular among many Democrats.

But some participants left the session expressing skepticism about whether it was the beginning of a long-term thaw in relations.

“My sense was there was not a lot of progress made,’’ Steny H. Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat and the House majority leader, said after he returned to the Capitol.

“I heard a tip of the hat to working together.’’