A top House Republican today blasted a ruling by the Justice Department that allows the Obama administration to pay ACORN for services provided under contracts signed before Congress passed a law banning the community advocacy group from receiving taxpayers money.

Republicans have been on the warpath against ACORN since its voter registration efforts came under scrutiny during the 2008 presidential campaign. After conservative activists, who posed as a prostitute and pimp, released videos appearing to show ACORN staffers advising them how to skirt the law, Democrats joined in the outrage, leading to the congressional funding ban that Obama signed on Oct. 1.

Since 1994, ACORN, which stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, has received about $53 million in federal aid, much of it in grants to help poor people obtain affordable housing. The Justice Department asked whether the funding ban applied to prior contracts. In a ruling first reported by the New York Times, a department lawyer said the payments under prior contracts should continue because the language of the law did not expressly wipe them out.

But Representative Darrell Issa, the top Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said "the bipartisan intent of Congress was clear -- no more federal dollars should flow to ACORN."

"It is telling that this administration continues to look for every excuse possible to circumvent the intent of Congress," Issa said in a statement. "Taxpayers should not have to continue subsidizing a criminal enterprise that helped Barack Obama get elected president. The politicization of the Justice Department to payback one of the president’s political allies is shameful and amounts to nothing more than old-fashioned cronyism."

Republicans say that Americans should be thankful for their blessings today -- but also very worried about the economy and the path that President Obama and Democrats are charting for the country.

"Millions of families have seen jobs and careers vanish in the midst of this recession," House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence of Indiana says in the weekly GOP radio-Internet address, timed this time for Thanksgiving.

“Many are asking, ‘When will things get better?’ Many more are asking, ‘Where are the jobs?’ " he adds. "In the city and on the farm, as millions of American families struggle to balance their checkbooks this holiday season, they watch in astonishment as Washington spends billions of dollars it doesn’t have."

After trashing Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus package, which he said has failed utterly given the national unemployment rate has risen to a "heartbreaking" 10.2 percent, he ridicules the president's plans for a jobs summit next Thursday.

The likely product, Pence says: “Another proposal to grow government, raise taxes and place more debt on the shoulders of our children and grandchildren. The American people know we can’t borrow and spend and bail our way back to a growing economy. The Obama administration and the Democratic majority in Congress have taken our economy from bad to worse with their failed economic agenda and big government plans."

And he says the proposed health care overhaul -- especially a government-run public insurance option -- would make the situation worse.

Pence, however, does not offer any specific solutions from Republicans, beyond the tried-and-true letting "Americans keep more of their hard-earned money."

"With many families hurting during this holiday season, now is the time for us to focus on what makes America great, to join hands and work together on common sense solutions to the problems ailing our nation," he concludes. “Let us resolve to help where we can help, let’s give where we can give, and let’s work together to get this economy moving on the time-honored principles of fiscal responsibility, equality of opportunity and growth."

The full address is below and can be viewed here.

US leaders are urging Americans to join in the international call to stop violence against women on the 10th anniversary of a day set aside to raise awareness.

"Violence against women is found in every culture around the world. It is one of our most pervasive global problems, yet it is preventable. When gang rape is a weapon of war, when women are beaten behind closed doors, or when young girls are trafficked in brothels and fields - we all suffer. This violence robs women and girls of their full potential, causes untold human suffering, and has great social and economic costs," Vice President Joe Biden, who championed the issue while in the US Senate, said in a statement.

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John F. Kerry -- joined by Senators Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Barbara Boxer of California, and Ben Cardin of Maryland -- also marked the day. Kerry said that before year's end, he will introduce a bill to officially put the US on record backing the global effort.

“The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is an important reminder of just how many women and girls continue to be subjected to violence and discrimination around the world. I applaud the UN Secretary-General’s efforts to involve boys and men in this effort; women’s safety cannot be guaranteed without their involvement,” Kerry said in a statement. “Societies where women are safe and can pursue their aspirations will realize their full social and economic potential.”

Keeping up their attack on the Obama administration's stimulus plan, top House Republicans today urged the man in charge to stop claiming jobs that haven't been confirmed.

House GOP leader John Boehner and Representative Darrell Issa, the senior Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter to Vice President Joe Biden telling him to stop using jobs "saved or created" figures. The administration claimed nearly 650,000 saved or claimed by last month, and said that figure put the stimulus on track to reach Obama's goal of 3.5 million by the end of next year. Read the letter here.

"Washington Democrats claimed the $787-billion ‘stimulus’ would keep unemployment below eight percent and create jobs ‘immediately.’ Instead, three million more Americans have lost their jobs, and unemployment is over ten percent. The American people are asking, ‘where are the jobs?’ but rather than work with Republicans on common-sense solutions to get our economy moving again, the White House is pressing ahead with a job-killing agenda, including a ‘cap-and-trade’ national energy tax and a trillion-dollar government takeover of health care." Boehner said in a statement.

"Worse, they are attempting to disguise the fact that the ‘stimulus’ isn’t working by releasing a stream of questionable - or outright inaccurate - statistics, including the number of jobs ‘saved or created’ – a metric the Obama Administration seems to have made up out of thin air. It’s time to bring facts back to this debate, and a good first step would be for Vice President Biden to stop citing these fictitious figures."

UPDATE: For their part, Democrats are pointing out that more than a few House Republicans -- 67 and counting, they say -- have tried to reap the political benefits of stimulus projects, though they all voted against the package.

"Given that House Republicans helped create the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and not a single one voted for the Recovery Package, it's hardly surprising that they root for failure while working to distract from the mess they created. We will continue going District by District to set the record straight and expose House Republicans and their Right Wing allies' shameless hypocrisy," Ryan Rudominer, a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman, said in a statement.

The administration's jobs count from the $787 billion stimulus has been widely questioned, with some numbers inflated and others impossible to verify and recipients of grants complaining that the forms are difficult to fill out.

Independent congressional watchdogs testified last week that while the stimulus has helped, they could not confirm any count. Many economists also agree that the stimulus has helped slow job losses, though it is exceedingly difficult to quantify.

Abortion rights groups today announced a lobbying campaign to strip restrictions out of the health care legislation in Congress.

They plan a national week of action next week, including a lobbying day in Washington on Dec. 2, to stop the provision, sponsored by Representative Bart Stupak, in the bill that the House passed this month that would not only ban a government-run public plan from covering elective abortion services, but would also ban any private insurer accepting federal subsidies from doing so. The bill being considered by the Senate includes a less restrictive provision.

Supporters of the Stupak provision say it would guarantee that current law barring the use of taxpayers money for abortion would stay in place during a health overhaul, but abortion rights groups say it would go much further, stopping women from using their own money for elective abortions.

"The Stupak amendment is a radical proposal that upends current law on abortion coverage in the United States," the Coalition to Pass Health Care Reform and Stop Stupak said in a statement. "It goes far beyond the Hyde amendment, which has unfairly prohibited the use of federal funds for abortion in most cases for more than 30 years. The Stupak amendment goes beyond Hyde because it would restrict abortion coverage by private health insurance plans in an unprecedented and dangerous manner."

The list of coalition members is below:

The partisan posturing continues apace from Saturday night, when Senate Democrats barely rounded up enough votes to open formal debate on the health care overhaul.

Three moderates -- Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, and Ben Nelson of Nebraska -- were the last holdouts to get Democrats to the magic 60 votes. And it took quite a bit of arm-twisting -- and even then all three made clear they're not on board to vote for the current legislation.

In Landrieu's case, she won provisions that would funnel millions of dollars to her state, a form of legislative extortion Capitol Hill wags are calling the "Louisiana Purchase."

To Republicans, the three Democrats and others violated their principles and sold out their constituents -- and the GOP tries to make the point in a new web video that assigns all sorts of nefarious motives.

“On Saturday night, a number of moderate Senate Democrats sacrificed their principles to bring America dangerously closer to government-run health care," Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele said in a statement. "Ben Nelson sold out his conscience and voted in favor of federally funded abortions. Blanche Lincoln sold out her principles by voting in favor of a government-run insurance plan, something she previously said she opposed. And Mary Landrieu simply sold her vote to the highest bidder after Harry Reid added a $300 million earmark just for Louisiana. Voters elected these Senators to represent their best interests. Instead they voted in the dead of night for a health care experiment that will increase taxes, raise premiums, cut Medicare, and use taxpayer dollars to fund abortion. This is not the representation Americans deserve. It’s time for these senators to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask themselves who they really work for – their constituents or liberal Democrats like Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.”

The video says that Democrats acted in the "dead of night," but that's not actually true. The vote came at about 8 p.m. Saturday. That accusation would have been more appropriate for the House vote on health care on Nov. 7, which came after 11 p.m.

House Republicans are trying to ratchet up the pressure on President Obama to decide the new strategy -- including the number of troops -- for Afghanistan.

The commander he sent to turn around the eight-year war is asking for as many as 40,000 more US troops. Obama has held eight war councils -- at the most recent, he rejected all the plans on the table -- but is not expected to announce his decision until after Thanksgiving.

In a letter dated Thursday and released this afternoon, the Republicans back General Stanley McChrystal's counterinsurgency strategy that requires the additional forces.

They don't use the word "dithering" -- as did former Vice President Dick Cheney -- but they come awfully close, while at the same time tacitly acknowledging the criticism of Obama and Democrats that the Bush administration neglected Afghanistan.

"For over two months you have been engaged in a strategy review that has left the country, our military, and allies uncertain about your commitment to the war in Afghanistan and unsure about your will to do what it is necessary to win this conflict. Worse, we fear this process has emboldened our enemies," they write.

"We believe that it is long overdue for our military to be in the execution stage of the strategy instead of the evaluation phase. While no one disputes that a Commander-in-Chief should deliberate before making decisions, particularly in matters involving life and death, we believe this review is having a detrimental impact on our efforts in Afghanistan. While 68,000 U.S. forces are fighting on the battlefield, your strategy review in Washington has returned the country to the policy drift that undermined our efforts in Afghanistan for much of the war."

The full letter is below:

A new poll out this morning suggests that Americans are starting to shift blame on the jobless economic recovery to Democrats from Republicans.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey found that 27 percent of respondents say Democrats are mostly responsible for the economic woes, while 38 percent say Republicans are mostly to blame. In May, by contrast, the same survey found only 21 percent blaming Democrats and 53 percent faulting Republicans.

The poll also found that the gap between those who believe that President Obama's policies have improved economic conditions and those who think his policies have worsened the economy has shrunk -- from 14 percentage points in May to only 8 percentage points this month.

Despite the rebounding stock market and other positive signs, the survey found unrelenting pessimism about the economy: 82 percent rated conditions as somewhat or very poor, while only 18 percent said they were somewhat or very good.

The new survey was conducted Nov. 13-15 and has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Some of the president's own Democratic allies have begun to turn against him on the economy, saying that the administration hasn't done enough, despite the $787 billion stimulus, to reverse rising unemployment.

UPDATE: Republicans are pouncing on the dissension in Democrats' ranks, the unemployment numbers, and growing doubts about the jobs supposedly saved or created by the stimulus spending.

“Continued double-digit unemployment is not what Ohioans were promised. The White House, with the support of Governor Strickland, pledged that the ‘stimulus’ would create jobs immediately and keep the national unemployment rate from going above 8 percent. Not only has the 'stimulus' not produced jobs the Administration promised, but now we continue to discover numerous cases of waste, fraud, and incompetence in Ohio and across the country,” the House GOP leader, Representative John Boehner of Ohio, said in a statement today after word that Ohio's unemployment rate had risen to 10.5 percent last month.

“Struggling families and small businesses in our great state deserve better. In all, over the past nine months since the ‘stimulus’ was enacted, nearly 150,000 Ohioans have lost their jobs­. Immediate action is needed to create jobs and provide relief. House Republicans will continue to offer fiscally responsible solutions to create jobs by putting money back in the hands of the true drivers of economic growth: American families, small businesses and entrepreneurs.”

President Obama's grassroots organization is targeting Sarah Palin by name, showing how large a public figure she has become and hinting perhaps that it sees her as a potential rival in 2012.

Organizing for America sent an email to supporters this morning seeking to raise $500,000 to counter Palin's criticisms of Obama's health care plan. The former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee has drawn huge audiences for her TV appearances on her media blitz accompanying the nationwide tour for her best-selling memoir.

Earlier this fall, she was the one who popularized the contention -- later debunked -- that the Democratic health care bills would create panels of bureaucrats who would decide end-of-life care.

"Right now, Sarah Palin is on a highly publicized, nationwide book tour, attacking President Obama and his plan for health reform at every turn," national director Mitch Stewart wrote.

"It's dangerous. Remember, this is the person who coined the term "Death Panels" -- and opened the flood gates for months of false attacks by special interests and partisan extremists. Whatever lie comes next will be widely covered by the media, then constantly echoed by right-wing attack groups and others who are trying to defeat reform."

The late Senator Edward M. Kennedy's legacy goes on and on in the health care debate.

The legislation that top Senate Democrat Harry Reid unveiled Wednesday night includes a bill that Kennedy had championed for years. Known as the CLASS (Community Living Assistance Services and Supports) Act, it would give the elderly at least $50 a day for long term care and allow them to stay at home if they want.

"The CLASS Act was immensely important to Senator Kennedy because, as he said, ‘It makes a simple pact with all Americans - if you work hard and contribute, society will take care of you when you fall on hard times.’ The Act gives the elderly and people with disabilities opportunities to continue living at home, function in their communities, and obtain the long-term care and support they need," Senator Paul G. Kirk Jr., who is carrying the health care baton for Kennedy as his temporary replacement, said in a statement today.

He and other supporters say it would save money in the long run by keeping people off Medicaid, but critics have questioned the cost.

A summary of the proposal, provided by Kirk's office, is below:

A leading abortion rights group said today that the Senate health care bill, while less objectionable than the House version, would still unfairly burden women.

The House bill bans a proposed public insurance option from covering abortion, and also prevents private insurers that accept federal subsidies from offering plans that cover abortion.

The bill unveiled by Senate majority leader Harry Reid is less restrictive, allowing insurers to use money from employers or consumers -- but not federal subsidies -- to cover abortions.

But NARAL Pro-Choice America said the legislation "includes a compromise that continues existing laws that unfairly single out abortion care, including a ban on federal funding."

“America’s pro-choice majority is speaking up loudly and clearly,” the group's president, Nancy Keenan, said in a statement. “Our goal is to ensure that women do not lose ground in the new health-care system and that attempts to expand existing restrictions on abortion are defeated.

"Some anti-choice politicians, such as Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), will follow Rep. Bart Stupak’s example and inject anti-abortion politics into health reform. However, we believe that senators understand that the Stupak amendment in the House bill goes far beyond the status quo and prohibits women from using their own money to buy the insurance coverage they want in the new system. Our activists will continue to remind senators that we’re expecting cooler heads to prevail at this stage of the process and that means the Stupak language is not an option.”

The health care debate is complicated enough to confuse even policy wonks.

So the House health committee has built a web application to help Americans figure out how the bill approved by the House earlier this month would affect them. The Senate is working on its own version, and if it passes legislation, a conference committee would try to reach a compromise that can pass both chambers and win President Obama's signature.

It's designed to answer questions including how someone would get coverage, who would be eligible for the new insurance "exchange," what would happen to a worker who gets coverage through their employer, and what would happen to Medicare.

The interactive graphic can be accessed here.

One of the most important interest groups in the health care debate -- Big Labor -- gave a qualified endorsement today to the bill finally unveiled by top Senate Democrat Harry Reid.

Union support is crucial to Democrats and President Obama to push through the bill, but AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said the nation's largest labor federation is still not happy with a tax on the most generous insurance plans, though it would hit fewer workers than the Senate Finance version. Labor argues that many employees bargained for such benefits to make up for lower or nonexistent pay increases.

Trumka did praise another financing method -- raising payroll taxes on the upper income to help pay for Medicare.

"We commend Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for bringing forward a health care bill that moves us closer to the historic goal of health care for America – high quality, affordable health care for all in our rich nation. The Senate leadership bill takes the strongest steps yet to bring down costs. But the bill is not perfect. It retains a version of the excise tax from the Senate Finance Committee bill. We continue to believe that a tax on working families’ benefits is the wrong way to finance health care and we will work hard to eliminate this provision as the bill heads to the floor," Trumka said in a statement.

"The bill’s inclusion of a public insurance plan option to hold private insurance companies accountable is a tremendous step. And the legislation should be praised for its other fair financing plans, including an increase in the Medicare tax on the wealthiest and an employer responsibility requirement, which we believe should be expanded to include more employers. The bill would expand access by covering 94 percent of Americans and reduce the deficit by $130 billion over 10 years. Today another hurdle is cleared and we are optimistic that good, affordable care for working families will soon be law."

By Lisa Wangsness, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- The health care overhaul bill that top Senate Democrat Harry Reid hopes to bring to the floor as soon as Saturday would cost $849 billion over 10 years and would reduce the ranks of the uninsured by 31 million Americans.

A senior leadership aide provided those figures as Reid unveiled his bill, which he has spent weeks working on, melding major elements of the versions passed by the Senate finance and health committees.

The preliminary price tag from the Congressional Budget Office would bring the bill in under the $900 billion that President Obama has set as a ceiling. According to the preliminary CBO analysis, the legislation would reduce the federal deficit by $127 billion over the first decade and by $650 billion over the second decade.

The bill would cover an estimated 94 percent of Americans. Reid bragged that the bill would save lives and protect Medicare, the government program for the elderly.

The bill would set up new insurance exchanges, where consumers could choose plans. It would include a public option that includes a provision for states to opt out of the system -- an exemption that is upsetting liberals who say that a strong government plan is needed to compete with private insurers to ensure affordable coverage.

Like the other bills, Reid's measure would require most Americans to buy insurance coverage with subsidies for those who can't afford it, and would require larger companies to provide coverage to their workers or face fees. It would ban insurance company practices such as denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions.

The bill would be financed by cuts in projected Medicare payments and by higher payroll taxes on upper income taxpayers. Under current law, the Medicare payroll tax is 1.45 percent of income. Under Reid's legislation, it would rise by half a percentage point on individuals' income above $200,000 a year and couples' income above $250,000.

The bill also includes a version of the tax on the most generous "Cadillac" insurance plans. The Senate Finance Committee bill proposed to tax health insurance plans costing more than $8,000 annually for individuals and $21,000 for families. Unions and others had strongly opposed that idea.

The bill the House passed earlier this month would be financed in large measure by a 5.4 percent income tax surcharge on individuals making more than $500,000 a year and households making more than $1 million.

The bill also includes a far less restrictive provision on abortion coverage than the House bill, which would ban the public plan from covering abortion and also ban private plans that accept federal subsidies from doing so. Republicans say the provision is needed to ensure that tax money does not fund abortions, but liberals and abortion rights say it would treat women unfairly and have threatened to vote against the final legislation if it includes it.

Reid's bill calls for the exchange to cover plans with and without abortion coverage, giving consumers a choice.

Reid had been waiting for the CBO numbers before unveiling his bill, for which he is still seeking to round up 60 votes to start floor debate. This afternoon, he met privately with three wavering moderate Democrats, Senators Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, and Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

UPDATE: President Obama this evening issued a statement praising Reid's bill, calling it "another critical milestone in the health reform effort."

"I was particularly pleased to see that the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the bill will reduce the deficit by $127 billion over the next ten years and as much as $650 billion in the decade following, saving hundreds of billions while extending coverage to 31 million more Americans," Obama said in a statement.

"From day one, our goal has been to enact legislation that offers stability and security to those who have insurance and affordable coverage to those who don’t, and that lowers costs for families, businesses and governments across the country. Majority Leader Reid, Chairmen Baucus and Dodd, and countless Senators have worked tirelessly to craft legislation that meets those principles," the president added.

"Just yesterday, a bipartisan group of more than 20 leading health economists released a letter urging passage of meaningful reform and praising four key provisions that are in the Senate legislation: a fee on insurance companies offering high-premium plans, the establishment of an independent Medicare commission, reforms to the health care delivery system, and overall deficit neutrality. The economists said that these provisions ‘will reduce long-term deficits, improve the quality of care, and put the nation on a firm fiscal footing.’ Those are precisely the goals we should be seeking to attain.

"The challenges facing our health care system aren’t new – but if we fail to act they’ll surely get even worse, meaning higher premiums, skyrocketing costs, and deeper instability for those with coverage. Today, thanks to the Senate’s hard work, we’re closer than ever to enacting solutions to these problems. I look forward to working with the Senate and House to get a finished bill to my desk as soon as possible.”

Senator Paul G. Kirk Jr. of Massachusetts, who replaced the late Edward M. Kennedy who had made universal health care his final cause, also praised Reid's bill.

“This is a bill that would make Ted Kennedy proud,” Kirk said in a statement. “We’re a giant step closer to his long-held dream that quality, affordable health care is available to Americans. I’m especially pleased that the bill includes Senator Kennedy’s CLASS Act, so that the elderly and people with disabilities can obtain the support and services they need to continue living at home and participate in their communities.

“I particularly commend Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senator Dodd and Senator Baucus for their extraordinary leadership on this historic legislation, and for doing so in a way that contains costs for families and reduces the deficit over the long run. I look forward to its passage by the Senate.”

It was somehow fitting that Senator Paul G. Kirk Jr. joined in the tributes today for Senator Robert Byrd, who became the longest-serving member of Congress ever.

Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat, was on Capitol Hill for all 47 years that the legend that Kirk is temporarily replacing -- Edward M. Kennedy -- was in the Senate. Byrd and Kennedy disagreed on civil rights and other issues, but later became close friends.

Byrd wept openly this year and last as he talked on the Senate floor about his friend's battle with brain cancer.

"I pay tribute to Senator Byrd on behalf of myself and the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but I also pay tribute on behalf of my predecessor and a great friend of Senator Byrd’s, former Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts," Kirk said today on the Senate floor.

"It is true that Senator Kennedy and Senator Byrd didn’t always see eye to eye on every issue. Senator Kennedy used to joke that it was Senator Byrd who taught him how to count votes in their whip race in 1971. Actually, he taught us both how to count votes because I was a young aide to Senator Kennedy in his whip’s office at the time and it turned out that Senator Byrd clearly could count votes more accurately than we could.

"Over the years since, Senator Kennedy was always proud to be in this chamber when his friend Senator Byrd would speak. As Senator Kennedy once said, he knew that Senator Byrd was an expert on the Roman Senate and he was sure that Senator Byrd's wisdom and oratorical skills would make even Cicero envious," Kirk added. (His full remarks are below.)

UPDATE: When Byrd spoke, he wept and shook a little. "I've loved every precious minute of it," he said.

Afterwards, Kirk shook his hand, and several other Democrats also congratulated him.

President Obama, who served with Byrd in the Senate before running for president, added his congratulations.

"Countless colleagues, myself included, have looked to him for advice, guidance and leadership over the years," Obama said in a statement. "He is one of the most steadfast defenders of the United States Constitution, and he never lets us forget the guiding values and principles that make our nation great."

President Obama's grassroots group late this afternoon announced the winner of its health care video contest -- a bunch of cute kids at a playground listing medical problems and saying that they deserve health care.

Organizing for America said it received more than 1,000 entries (some of which are mashed together at the beginning of the YouTube video with the winner) before narrowing them to 20 finalists and picking one.

"The winning video shows that our supporters' creativity and passion is more than a match for the slick ads and partisan spin doctors on the other side. In the next few days, we'll be using this video as the basis for a new television ad that will air across the country -- and you can help, by ensuring we have the resources to make the biggest impact," Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe says in an email to supporters soliciting contributions.

"With Congress wrapping up its last round of negotiations and closely gauging the public's mood in these crucial final weeks, now is the exact time to get this grassroots message out far and wide."

The White House and its Democratic allies in Congress are refocusing on jobs. To which Republicans say: It's about time.

"I say you gotta be kidding me. They have for months now been about more spending, leaving a wake of deficits in their trail, and now they want to focus on what’s important," Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the No. 2 Republican in the House, told reporters today.

"Sometimes it is difficult for us to take the other side seriously, but if they are serious we welcome this news. Republicans have been working for months now trying to forge solutions as to how to get Americans back to work. We urge Speaker Pelosi to take into consideration some of the Republican solutions for job creation and look forward to working together so that we can get this economy back on track,” he added.

UPDATE: WASHINGTON -- Continuing his focus on swine flu, Senator Paul G. Kirk Jr. today questioned why it's taking so long to get the vaccine to states.

At a hearing of the Senate homeland security committee, the Massachusetts Democrat noted that there have been about 22 million cases of H1N1 nationwide and 3,900 deaths, including more than 1,500 confirmed cases in the Bay State since April.

State officials said last month that vaccine deliveries were running three weeks behind and that shortages were being reported.

"Many of us are seriously concerned that far more individuals will come down with the virus, and far more lives will be lost, before sufficient quantities of the vaccine arrive," Kirk said in his opening remarks. (His full prepared opening statement is below.)

UPDATE: Representative John Boehner added his criticism, noting that the national debt has passed a mindboggling $12 trillion.

"A $12 trillion national debt is just the latest fallout from Washington Democrats’ unprecedented spending binge.  The American people are asking ‘where are the jobs?’ but all they are getting from out-of-touch Washington Democrats is more unsustainable spending and debt to be paid by our kids and grandkids.  Instead of taking immediate, bipartisan action to cut spending, Washington Democrats are preparing to double down on their trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ with a $1.3 trillion government takeover of health care and a promise to address fiscal responsibility sometime next year," he said in a statement.

“The American people deserve better than a government that kicks the can down the road.  It is past time for Congress to adopt strict budget caps that limit federal spending on an annual basis, which was a critical plank in the budget alternative Republicans proposed earlier this year.”

Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, Cantor's Democratic counterpart, said Democrats will try to pass a job-creation plan this year that could include money for highway construction and tax credits for small businesses.

Hoyer told reporters today that it wouldn't be as sweeping as the $787 billion economic stimulus enacted in February, saying, “We need to act in a way that does get to the creation of job opportunities of people in the short term.”

Just before President Obama departed on his Asia trip, he announced a jobs forum to come up with any and all ideas to stem rising unemployment, at 10.2 percent nationally last month.

The White House announced Monday night that the forum will be Dec. 3. “During these difficult economic times, we have a responsibility to consider all good ideas to encourage and accelerate job creation in this country. At the forum next month, I am looking forward to hearing from the private sector, from CEOs and small business owners and from Americans struggling to make ends meet on how we can work together to create jobs and get this economy moving again,” Obama said in a statement.

The White House also announced that the following day, Obama will kick off a "Main Street Tour" in Allentown, Pa., "that will take him to cities and towns across the country over the course of the next few months" to "take the temperature on what Americans are experiencing during these challenging economic times."

Americans remain divided about the health care overhaul and skeptical that it will make their lives better, according to new polling.

In the Washington Post/ABC News survey published today, 49 percent oppose and 48 percent support the proposed changes overall. But tellingly, 52 percent say they expect their own care to become more expensive, and 56 percent say the overall cost of health care in the country increasing. And among the majority of Americans who have insurance, 39 percent believe their coverage will worsen while only 13 percent said they expect it to improve.

On the contentious issue of abortion, 61 percent support banning coverage using public subsidies, but 56 percent say if private money were used to pay for abortions, even insurance for those receiving government aid should be allowed to include coverage.

Meanwhile, a poll conducted for the Associated Press found that Americans prefer taxing the high earners to taxing so-called Cadillac plans to pay for the overhaul bill.

Under the bill passed by the House, there would be a 5.4 percent income tax surcharge on individuals making more than $500,000 a year and couples earning more than $1 million. The poll found 57 percent support a surtax, even it hit individuals making more than $250,000 a year.

The bill passed by the Senate Finance Committee would tax insurance plans costing more than $8,000 annually for individuals and $21,000 for families. The survey found 56 percent opposed to that approach.

UPDATE: A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released this afternoon found 46 percent in favor and 49 percent opposed to the House-passed bill. Those opposed included 34 percent who said the bill was "too liberal" and 10 percent who said it wasn't liberal enough.

Of respondents, 30 percent said that the Senate should make relatively minor changes to the House bill before passing it, 22 percent said the Senate should make major changes, 28 percent said the Senate should start over with a new bill next year, and 18 percent said the Senate should stop working on any major changes to the health care system.

Americans are also divided on whether they believe a health care bill similar to the House version will be passed by Congress this year: 49 percent said it is very or somewhat likely, but 50 percent said it is very or somewhat unlikely.

President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao didn't agree today on much substantial on climate change.

But these days, even goodwill among the two biggest energy producers is apparently cause for hope.

“This agreement shows that economic competition and cooperation are not mutually exclusive, especially when solving the grave threat of climate change is at stake," Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts said in a statement.

“This significant agreement offers a blueprint for international clean energy cooperation between the U.S. and China, and for the rest of the world. With crucial international climate negotiations in Copenhagen just weeks away, the U.S. and China have proven today that the international community can find common ground on key energy issues," added Markey, co-author of the climate change bill passed by the House in June.

“In just a month, the conventional wisdom on US-Chinese climate politics has been turned on its head, and not a moment too soon. With just days to go before nearly 200 countries meet in Copenhagen to forge a new way forward on climate and clean energy, this agreement shows that the last remaining roadblocks are being pushed aside.”

A leading abortion rights group delivered petitions today to try to squash the funding ban when the Senate takes up its health care overhaul bill.

NARAL Pro-Choice America said it and its partners, including People for the American Way, collected 97,218 signatures in 72 hours calling on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to resist pressure from anti-abortion groups to include the controversial provision in the House-passed bill. It would ban a new public insurance option from covering abortion and would also bar private insurance plans that accept patients receiving federal subsidies from offering that coverage.

“America’s pro-choice majority is speaking up loudly and clearly,” NARAL President Nancy Keenan said in a statement. “As the fight for health reform moves forward, we are making sure Sen. Reid and his colleagues understand that adding the anti-choice Stupak-Pitts language to the Senate bill is not an option.”

While supporters of the abortion funding provision say it would just keep in place the current ban on federal funding of abortions -- except in the cases of rape, incest, and danger to the mother's life -- abortion rights groups say it would go well beyond that, effectively denying women the right to use their own money to buy insurance with abortion coverage.

UPDATE: Another abortion rights group is up with a new ad airing on cable in Washington, D.C., and on the Internet.

In the spot from the Center for Reproductive Rights, a female stand-up comic is shown telling a joke: "A woman walks into her doctor’s office and says: ‘Doc, I’m 11 weeks pregnant. My baby has anencephaly, which means parts of her skull and brain are literally missing. It’s fatal. Does my insurance cover an abortion?’ The doctor says: ‘No it does not.' "

The joke is met with dead silence, then the announcer says, "Don’t let Congress ban abortion coverage millions already have.”

There are two interesting developments today in the health care debate as top Senate Democrat Harry Reid tries to get his ducks in a row to start floor debate this week.

First, the Washington Post reports that the US Chamber of Commerce, a leading business group that is trying to build support against the Democratic bills, is soliciting money for a study that could be used to cast the legislation as a threat to the nation's economy. In an e-mail obtained by the Post, the Chamber's senior health policy manager proposes spending $50,000 to hire a "respected economist" to study the bill.

Also, a new poll released by the Associated Press found Americans split almost right down the middle about the health care bill and worried about the fine print.

According to the survey, 43 percent of respondents oppose the health care bill being debated by Congress, while 41 percent support it, and 15 percent remain neutral or undecided.

The poll, conducted by Stanford University with the nonprofit Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found broad support for President Obama's goals, but concerns about the details to reach those goals. For example, while Americans support a ban on insurers denying coverage because of pre-existing medical problems, when told that such a prohibition would probably increase costs for many, 43 percent said they would still support the ban, but 31 percent said they would oppose it.

It has been a week since the House passed the sweeping health care bill, but Republicans remain on the warpath against it.

Representative Mark Kirk of Illinois, an Afghanistan war vet, rails against the legislation in the weekly GOP radio-Internet address today.

He says the bill -- approved with only one Republican "aye" -- would increase taxes, would worsen the record federal deficits, would put government in control of health care, and would threaten Medicare.

"In the teeth of the Great Recession, the Pelosi bill would impose ten new taxes on the American economy. The top combined tax rate for my state of Illinois would be four percentage points higher than France," he says. "The Democrat bill levies new taxes on health insurance, income and even pace makers. The bill also cuts health care for seniors – my parents and many of yours – with $500 billion in cuts for Medicare doctors, hospitals and advantage patients. The bill even cuts Medicare for skilled nursing, wheelchairs and hospices.

“In sum, the bill opens a new trillion-dollar entitlement just as our national debt tops $12 trillion. Ignoring the future needs of Social Security and Medicare, the bill creates a new massive spending program, supported by heavy taxes and cuts to senior health care," Kirk adds.

The House Democratic bill does not trim Medicare, itself. But more than 10 million seniors enrolled in an enhanced, private version known as Medicare Advantage -- including 175,000 in Massachusetts -- could see their plans shrink or be replaced with traditional coverage under the health care overhaul plans proposed by Democrats in Congress.

Kirk also outlines the Republican alternative, with a heavy weight on curbing medical malpractice lawsuits, allowing people to take their coverage across state lines, and encouraging states to experiment. That plan, however, would come nowhere close to extending coverage to the millions of Americans without health insurance.

His full address is below, and can be viewed here.

By Farah Stockman, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- As Pakistan is rocked with daily attacks, Representative Congressman John F. Tierney, who heads a House subcommittee on national security and foreign affairs, traveled to there this week to meet with military and political leaders, as well as private citizens who have fled the violence.

Tierney, a Salem Democrat who has pushed for more accountability on military aid to the troubled south Asian country, said he will continue to press for strict oversight of funds, even though Pakistan's military is under daily attack by insurgents who threaten both Pakistan and the United States.

In the past, "whenever the request was made, the bill was paid," he said of the funds that the Bush administration gave to Pakistan's military to cover costs of deploying its soldiers in the lawless tribal areas. "Now you are going to find out there has to be substantial verification before the funds are paid."

Tierney vowed similar oversight on $1.5 billion in non-military aid funding for Pakistan approved by Congress this year.

It is not clear how welcome his message of strict oversight was received in Pakistan, where many complained bitterly on conditions that he had placed on military assistance in the $1.5 billion aid package.

Today Tierney presided over the US donation of $430,000 worth of medical supplies to the North West Frontier Province, a region that has been hard hit by suicide bombings. He told reporters in a conference call that Pakistan's fragile political situation is "tenuous" but that the elected government appears to be stable for now.

Tierney also met with Pakistani military leaders, and leaders of opposition parties -- both groups whom are believed to be displeased with the government of current Pakistani president Ali Asif Zardari. But Tierney said both the military and the opposition said they were not trying to push Zardari out, either with a military takeover or a parliamentary action.

"The military is quite clearly indicating that there is no intention of a coup," he told reporters in a conference call from Islamabad. "In conversations with the opposition, their statements were that they have no intention of trying to push Zardari out . . . I don't know how long that lasts."

The GOP is doing its darndest to quickly move on from an embarrassing revelation -- that even as congressional Republicans insist that the health care overhaul does not cover abortions, the national party's own health plan covers elective procedures.

Late Thursday night, the Republican National Committee acknowledged that its health plan, as far back as 1991, included some coverage for elective abortion. Chairman Michael Steele instructed the RNC's director of administration to opt out of any coverage for elective abortion services in its health insurance policy, the party said.

"Money from our loyal donors should not be used for this purpose. I don't know why this policy existed in the past, but it will not exist under my administration. Consider this issue settled," Steele said in a statement.

The situation was first reported by Thursday by Politico, which cited two sales agents for Cigna who said that the RNC's policy covered elective abortion and that the RNC didn't opt out of abortion coverage when given the opportunity.

Abortion has emerged as a key issue in the health care debate after the bill approved by the House last weekend included a provision that would ban a new government-run public insurance plan from offering coverage and that would also bar private insurers that accept federal subsidies from doing so.

Supporters, including Republicans, say the provision preserves the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal money for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the life of the mother. But opponents say the provision goes far beyond that and would result in many women either being denied coverage or having to pay more.

For the second time this week, Republicans are using the example of Senator John F. Kerry to pressure moderate Democrats on health care.

This time, it's a web video targeting Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska for reportedly considering a vote to send the health care overhaul bill to the floor, but then voting against the bill. His vote could be crucial as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tries to reach the 60 votes to overcome a GOP filibuster and begin debate.

The Republican National Committee is calling it a "flip-flop" reminiscent of Kerry, who during his 2004 presidential campaign said of an Iraq war funding bill, “I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted against it.” (He was inartfully saying he voted for an earlier version of an Iraq war appropriation because it would have repealed many of President George W. Bush's tax cuts, but opposing the spending because he would not have gone to war without more international support.)

A similar web video went after Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas on the same grounds.

“Ben Nelson has taken part in the classic Potomac two-step of telling his constituents one thing in Nebraska and doing another thing back in Washington, D.C.," RNC Chairman Michael Steele said in a statement. "Politicians cannot have it both ways -- just ask John Kerry. Nebraskans can spot a phony politician when they see one and they know that any vote to move the Democrats’ health care bill forward is a vote for a government-run health care experiment.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced this afternoon that she will endorse Representative Mike Capuano for the US Senate seat vacated by the death of Edward M. Kennedy.

Capuano, a Somerville Democrat, is the only sitting member of Congress seeking the seat. He and Pelosi are to appear together in Boston Friday morning to formalize the endorsement.

While Pelosi is popular with Democrats, she is a target of Republicans and conservatives. So while her backing could help Capuano, particularly against Attorney General Martha Coakley, in the Dec. 8 Democratic primary, it could hurt him among Republicans and independents if he wins the nomination and moves to the Jan. 19 special election.

“Saturday the House of Representatives passed a historic health care bill that was a great victory for the American People. Mike Capuano not only cast a courageous vote for this historic legislation, but was a constructive force in improving this bill and moving it to the Senate. Whether taking on the CEOs of the financial services industry, supporting marriage equality, or voting against the Iraq War because he didn’t believe Bush Administration made the case to take military action, Mike Capuano has a proven record of standing up for progressive values and what he believes is right. I am proud to endorse Mike Capuano for U.S. Senate,” Pelosi said in a statement released by Capuano's campaign.

Pelosi has championed Capuano's political career before. In 2006, after Democrats won a majority in the House, she put Capuano in a key role in the Democrats’ transition to the majority. She later picked him to lead a task force on ethics.

A business-friendly group said this afternoon that on Thursday it will launch a $10 million nationwide TV ad blitz warning against doing too much, too fast on the health care overhaul.

The Employment Policies Institute joins the US Chamber of Commerce and others weighing in against the legislation that Democrats are trying to push through Congress and to President Obama's desk.

The ad -- to air before likely like-minded viewers on Fox News Channel as well as CNN and CNBC -- features June O’Neill, former director of the Congressional Budget Office, arguing that the bill would deepen the national debt and hurt job creation.

"Our country is facing an enormous debt crisis. Many of the plans to reform health care will make this crisis worse. As an economist and former director of the Congressional Budget Office, I’m deeply concerned about these health care reforms," she says in the ad.

"They will add hundreds of billions of dollars to the already $12 trillion national debt. We are paying $500 million a day in interest alone. This growing debt is unsustainable. It will have huge negative effects on jobs, taxes and our economy. Unfortunately, some politicians are using accounting gimmicks to hide the cost of these changes. And many seniors on Medicare will pay the price. Changes are necessary. But I fear these reforms are definitely not the answer."

By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- Former President Bill Clinton, who has painful personal experience with failure on health care reform, urged Senate Democrats this afternoon to get a bill passed.

"It's not important to be perfect. It's important to move. The worst is to do nothing,'' he said after a private luncheon.

The former president didn't specifically discuss his failed effort in 1993-94, senators in the lunch said afterwards. It was more of a pep talk, he said.

"He was upbeat. Positive with every chromosome in his body,'' said Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat.

Senator John F. Kerry, who came to national prominence when he testified before Congress as a Vietnam war hero turned anti-war activist, is now warning against those pushing for a troop surge in Afghanistan by asserting that the same could have turned the tide in Vietnam.

"Let me be clear: more than 58,000 American troops died because they were sent into battle based on false assumptions, flawed goals, and faulty strategies. Yes, we adopted smarter tactics near the end, but by then the die was cast. History has definitively branded Vietnam for the mistake it was—no one should believe that the deaths of nearly 60,000 Americans and at least 1.5 million Vietnamese were somehow not quite enough," Kerry, who is now chairman of the same committee he addressed in 1971, writes in the Nov. 16 issue of Newsweek magazine.

The Massachusetts Democrat, who is among those cautioning President Obama against sending the full allotment of 40,000 additional US troops sought by the top commander in Afghanistan, says there are some similarities with Vietnam.

"We are once again fighting an insurgency in a rural country with a weak central government," he writes. "Once again, our enemy blends in with the local population and finds sanctuary in a neighboring country. Once again, the danger of being perceived as an occupying force by a war-weary population remains perilous."

But he says it is dangerous to draw too many parallels with Afghanistan -- a "very different country -- vastly different history, culture, and geography—in a different era."

"The main lesson that Obama must absorb from Vietnam is the necessity to explain our goals in Afghanistan, and to choose clear and realistic strategies to meet them," Kerry adds.

"I pledged to myself long ago to be informed by Vietnam, not imprisoned by it," he concludes. "The easiest way to make a mistake is to tolerate a debate that sells our country short. In the case of Afghanistan, politics has reduced a difficult mission in a complex country to a simple, headline-ready 'yes or no' on troop numbers. What we need is a realistic assessment of our strategy, military and civilian combined. One of the architects of the Vietnam War, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, confessed decades later that he knew victory was no longer possible well before the American death toll had reached half its eventual total. He offers a horrific lesson that the time to voice concerns is now."

The full piece is available here.

Senator John F. Kerry is cosponsoring a bill he announced today he will introduce to give more aid to small businesses that have military reservists on their payrolls.

Authored with Representative Ron Klein of Florida, the legislation would provide tax incentives for small businesses that make up the difference in salary between military and civilian pay while reservists are serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Many large businesses offer the supplements, but many small business owners, who employ 20 percent of reservists, can't afford to do the same.

“Our legislation supports the small businesses that stand by our men and women in uniform when reservists are deployed. It keeps our service members employed and small businesses open for business. In the face of a tough economy, we can do more to support the employers and reservists who make such profound contributions to our economy and national defense,” Kerry said in a statement.

The long-debated Cape Wind project is a significant measure of US commitment to alternative energy, Representative Edward Markey said today, urging a federal decision before the global warming conference in Denmark early next month.

Markey wrote a letter today to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, whose department has already completed an environmental review of the proposal. Read the letter here.

“Approving the Cape Wind project as the nation’s first commercial offshore wind project before the start of the U.N. conference would send a strong message to international negotiators about the United States’ commitment to developing sources of clean energy and reducing global warming pollution,” Markey, a co-author of the climate change bill that passed the House in June, said in a statement. “I strongly support the development of clean, renewable energy, and I believe that wind projects both onshore and offshore hold tremendous promise for our nation and for New England.”

With the Senate unlikely to complete action on a climate change bill before the Copenhagen conference, supporters are trying to line up any and all actions to demonstrate the US is serious on the issue.

While the 39 Democrats who voted against the health care bill have received quite a bit of notoriety, the lone Republican who supported it is getting his share of attention.

Representative Anh Cao, a freshman from New Orleans, is a Vietnamese-American who represents a largely African-American district that had been the fiefdom of Democrat William Jefferson, was under indictment when Cao ousted him last November.

Cao said he decided vote aye after a call from President Obama on Saturday, a conversation during which he sought assurances of more federal aid for Hurricane Katrina recovery. A devout Catholic, Cao also wanted the language that was added further restricting abortion services from the bill.

"I felt last night's decision was the proper decision for my district even though it was not the popular decision for my party," Cao told CNN on Sunday. "A lot of my constituents are uninsured, a lot of them are poor. It was the right decision for the people of my district."

Cao also responded to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who after last week's election threatened to "come after" lawmakers who didn't toe the party line.

"He has the right to come after those members who do not conform to party lines, but I would hope that he would work with us in order to adjust to the needs of the district and to hold a seat that the Republican party would need," Cao said.

Republicans are going aggressively after one of the key moderate Democrats who could decide the health care bill's fate in the Senate -- accusing Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas with an attempted "flip-flop" worthy of John F. Kerry.

A web video from the Republican National Committee slams Lincoln for a reported plan to vote for the bill to reach the Senate floor before voting against passage of the bill. Her vote could be crucial as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tries to round up 60 votes to overcome a GOP filibuster.

It repeatedly shows Kerry saying during one of his worst moments of his 2004 presidential campaign, “I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted against it.”

He was explaining why he voted for an earlier version of an Iraq war appropriation because it would have repealed many of President George W. Bush's tax cuts, before opposing the spending because he would not have gone to war without more international support. But Republicans used the clip to portray him as wishy-washy.

"Democrat leaders want Senator Blanche Lincoln to use the same tactic,” the announcer says in the web video. "To pass President Obama’s government-run health care experiment with a vote to move a bill forward with tax increases, cuts to Medicare, and rising premiums. Then, once it comes up for a final vote, they will allow her to vote against it.”

“But any vote to move the bill forward,” the announcer continues. “is a vote for Obama’s government-run health care experiment. They want Senator Lincoln to tell voters in Arkansas: ‘I voted for government-run health care for my party boss, before I voted against it to save my job.’ Americans don’t respect politicians who try to have it both ways. They want to know exactly where their leaders stand. Senator Lincoln, tell Harry Reid Arkansans know a flip-flopper when they see one.”

Representative Barney Frank has let loose another zinger on health care.

During the raucous town halls in August, the Newton Democrat had this response to a woman who asked why he was supporting a "Nazi policy:" "Ma’am, trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table."

Frank was apparently accosted as he tried to walk through a protest Thursday of thousands of opponents of the Democratic health care bills, including many "tea party" anti-tax activists who showed up at the town halls. He told an audience today that being at the rally was like being trapped inside a furniture warehouse, the Associated Press reports.

He also slapped Representative Michelle Bachmann, the Minnesota Republican who instigated the rally and who has become beloved by conservatives and hated by liberals for her outspoken attacks on President Obama and the Democrats.

"Some of the people [at the rally] that wanted to engage me in conversation appeared to have been the losers in the 'Are you smarter than Michele Bachmann contest?' " Frank said, according to AP.

By Lisa Wangsness, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- The No. 2 Democrat in the House said this morning that Democratic leaders are "very close" to getting the 218 votes they need to pass their sweeping health care bill.

But House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said they have put the rank-and-file on notice that the voting could spill over to Sunday afternoon and possibly Monday and Tuesday if necessary.

"My expectation is that time will not be needed, and we will get this done by Saturday night," Hoyer said in a conference call with the liberal health care consumers group Families USA. But a bit later he acknowledged that the leadership is still looking to solidify the support needed for passage.

"There are many people who are still looking to get a comfort level that this is the right thing to do," he said.

House leaders are trying to rush the bill -- one of the largest and most complex pieces of legislation considered in recent years -- through the lower chamber quickly. They fear that with every passing hour, more issues could arise and create obstacles to passage.

Hoyer said discussions are ongoing over two side issues, abortion and immigration. Conservative Democrats don't want public money to indirectly subsidize abortion, and they also don't want illegal immigrants to benefit from insurance subsidies.

If the House and Senate both pass legislation, Hoyer said -- rather ominously -- that he expects a "relatively lengthy and difficult conference" given the major differences between the House and Senate and the complexity of the bill.

UPDATE: White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters that the administration regrets the likely delay in the vote, but President Obama still plans to go to Capitol Hill on Saturday and sees it as "an important step forward."

He also acknowledged the tense discussions over abortion and illegal immigrants. "Congress, obviously, is working through a process that will ultimately, we believe, before the end of the year get a bill to the president's desk," he said.

Republicans are using the new unemployment numbers out today to pummel President Obama and the Democrats on their record on the economy -- the top issue for voters in Tuesday's election that gave the GOP the governor's offices in New Jersey and Virginia.

The Labor Department reported that the national jobless rate has exceeded 10 percent for the first time since 1983. The rate rose to 10.2 percent last month from 9.8 percent in September. Nearly 16 million people can't find jobs, and counting those who have settled for part-time jobs or stopped looking for work, the rate would be 17.5 percent, the highest on records dating from 1994.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele again attacked the $787 billion economic stimulus package, whose benefits cited in Obama administration reports have come under scrutiny.

"Since President Obama’s inauguration, the nation has watched the unemployment rate continue to climb, and unfortunately the month of October was no different," Steele said in a statement. "With so many families looking for work, it is time the Obama administration stop spreading their phony ‘saved or created’ talking points and start creating the dependable jobs America needs. President Obama promised jobs during his campaign for president, and the elections in Virginia and New Jersey on Tuesday were a clear referendum on his failure to deliver on this promise.”

And Representative Eric Cantor, the second-ranking Republican in the House, cited the new numbers to argue against the health care overhaul that House Democrats plan to push through as soon as Saturday.

"As unemployment tops 10 percent this holiday season, Republicans have put jobs and the economy first, and are focused on developing real solutions that will put Americans back to work. Increasing taxes on small business, as Democrats will do to pay for government run health care, is the wrong approach. Instead, we should work to empower small businesses to hire more workers, not penalize them further, costing even Americans their jobs," Cantor said in his statement.

“Americans, particularly those with friends, neighbors, and family out of work, are pleading with leaders in Washington to focus on jobs and the economy. From coast to coast, people are concerned with the direction that Washington is heading, and are tired of the spending, tired of the waste, and are pleading for their leaders to focus on jobs and the economy. With millions of Americans desperately seeking work, I ask the President put the economy first, and sit down with Republicans to develop bipartisan solutions that will change the direction of this economy and get people working again.”

Obama this week has touted his administration's efforts to rebuild the economy, while at the same time warning that unemployment would continue to rise until the recovery takes hold.

Today, Obama did sign an extension of jobless benefits -- 14 more weeks for those who have used up their benefits or will do so by the end of the year about 2 million nationwide, including as many as 40,000 in Massachusetts. Those in states such as Massachusetts where the jobless rate is 8.5 percent or above get an additional six weeks. It is the fourth such extension in the past 18 months. (The White House release on the bill is below.)

In a Rose Garden appearance this morning after signing the bill, Obama said the "sobering" jobless numbers underline the "economic challenges ahead."

He noted that the economy grew in the third quarter, but that "job growth always lags behind economic growth."

Obama vowed not to let up on creating jobs and said his administration is looking at additional incentives, tax cuts for businesses, and more measures to free up credit.

He said while it "will take time and patience," he's confident the economy will recover and the country is headed in the right direction. (His full remarks are below.)

Responding to the new numbers, the White House issued a statement this morning from Christina Romer, chairwoman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, putting the best spin on them.

“Today’s employment report contained both signs of hope for recovery and painful evidence of continued labor market weakness," she said.

"Payroll employment declined 190,000 in October, continuing the steady trend of moderating job loss that began last spring. Furthermore, the employment loss in both August and September was revised down substantially. Importantly, employment in temporary help services, typically one of the first industries to see job gains, increased by 33,700. The motor vehicle industry also posted employment gains. These are hopeful signs that the unprecedented policy actions are working to stabilize the economy and put us on a path toward recovery.

"The unemployment rate, however, rose four-tenths of a percentage point, to 10.2 percent. That this occurred despite the rise in real GDP last quarter reflects both the typical lag between GDP growth and unemployment decline, and the recent exceptional increases in productivity. Having the unemployment rate reach double-digits is a stark reminder of how much work remains to be done before American families see the job gains and reduced unemployment that they need and deserve.”

As House Democrats prepare to push through their health care overhaul this weekend, a new poll suggests that most Americans aren't satisfied with the sweeping measure and want Congress to keep working on it.

In the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released this morning, 33 percent of respondents said they wanted Congress to pass the final legislation only after "major changes" are made, another 24 percent said Congress should start from scratch and seek passage next year, and 15 percent said Congress should stop work on an overhaul altogether.

Only 26 percent said they wanted Congress to proceed with only minor changes to the proposals.

The poll also found 55 percent in favor of the public option -- a government-run plan to compete with private insurers -- though that support was down from 61 percent two weeks ago. Support for President Obama's health care plan has also declined to 45 percent from 49 percent in mid-October.

And the poll found that health care is far behind the economy in importance to Americans -- and that gap has grown in the past two weeks. Now, 47 percent rank the economy as the most important issue facing the nation, compared to 17 percent for health care -- a 30-percentage-point difference compared to 21 percentage points two weeks ago.

The new survey was conducted Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The political jockeying is ramping up as the House prepares to vote on its sweeping health care bill as soon as Saturday.

Not a single Republican is expected to vote for the Democratic bill, which would cost $1.2 trillion bill over 10 years, require employers to insure their employees, and prohibit insurance companies from dropping coverage for sick people.

Instead, House Republicans are promoting their own belated bill -- including in a marathon online town hall today -- that focuses far more on cutting costs than covering uninsured Americans.

(Democrats, meanwhile, issued a dismissive slap at the online town hall. "We're planning a twelve second town hall to explain every last detail of the GOP health care plan," Democratic National Committee spokesman Hari Sevugan said in a statement. "According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the Republican 'plan' would do no nothing to stop insurance companies from denying care to Americans with pre-existing conditions or other profit protecting practices, do less to reduce the deficit and leave more people without insurance than there are today. They might as well call it the Do Nothing Act of 2009.")

House GOP Leader John Boehner is bragging about an independent analysis by the Congressional Budget Office that says the Republican health care plan will lower premiums by as much as 10 percent and reduce the federal deficit by $68 billion over 10 years.

“When it comes to reforming health care, controlling skyrocketing costs is the American peoples’ top priority. Now CBO has confirmed that the Republican plan will lower health care costs for American families, and that’s good news for everyone struggling in today’s economy. The choice now could not be clearer: Speaker Pelosi’s plan raises costs. Our plan lowers them," Boehner said in a statement.

“Not only does the GOP plan lower health care costs, but it also increases access to quality care – including for those with pre-existing conditions – at a price our country can afford. The cost of the Speaker’s bill, now at $1.3 trillion and counting, is a debt that will be paid for by our kids and our grandkids. The American people deserve a better solution, and Republicans’ smart, fiscally-responsible plan gives them exactly what they want."

Boehner, however, does not mention that the CBO analysis found that the Republican plan would only decrease the number of uninsured Americans by about 3 million by 2019, leaving about 50 million without coverage. The Democratic bill, by contrast, would cover an estimated 96 percent of Americans.

UPDATE: Also, thousands of protestors, many of them "tea party" anti-tax activists, are holding a rally outside Congress in opposition to the Democratic bill and President Obama's plan. They say it would extend government control over health care and lead to higher taxes.

Speaking to the rally, Boehner called the Democratic health care bill "the greatest threat to freedom" he had seen in his 19 years in Congress.

He warned that it would lead to a government takeover with bureaucrats making health care decisions.

"I'm going to stand with you and all freedom-loving Americans," he said, holding up a copy of the Constitution and reading from the preamble about the "right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

According to the Associated Press, protestors' signs included one that said "Waterboard Congress," along with echoes of the rallying cry at August town halls with lawmakers, "Vote no to government-run health care."

One protester carried a placard reading, "Bury Obamacare with Kennedy," a reference to Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, who died of brain cancer in August and who called universal health care the cause of his life.

A liberal-labor coalition is rebutting the GOP plan with a new TV ad that slams it as a bill to protect insurance company profits.

"This just in: Republicans in Congress have introduced the Health Insurance Industry Profits Protection Act," the announcer says in the ad from Americans United for Change.

"The Republican bill lets insurance companies continue denying care for preexisting conditions," the announcer continues in the faux newscast. "Republicans will still let insurers raise premiums four times faster than wages. And health care will remain unaffordable for most Americans."

"Well folks, it looks like when it comes to health care, the party of no is now, the party of no change."

The AARP, a powerful lobby for seniors, officially announced its endorsement today of the House Democratic bill, despite concerns about potential cuts for members enrolled in Medicare "plus" plans.

The group, however, focused on the provisions that it says will "curb insurance companies’ discrimination against older Americans and Medicare improvements that strengthen benefits while protecting the program for future generations."

“Our goals have always been to make health coverage more affordable for our younger members, those aged 50 to 64, and to protect Medicare for seniors,” Deborah Banda, AARP Massachusetts state director, said in a statement. “Having reviewed the Affordable Health Care for America Act, we believe it meets these goals by improving benefits for people in Medicare – including closing the Medicare prescription drug coverage gap, the dreaded “doughnut hole” – and making health insurance market reforms to help ensure affordable health coverage for every American.”

President Obama, in a surprise appearance during the regular press briefing, bragged this afternoon about the support for the Democratic health care bill by the AARP and the American Medical Association, saying the endorsements bring reform closer than ever.

"This is no small endorsement," he said of the AARP support, saying it should rebut criticism that the proposals would hurt seniors.

"We're thrilled they're standing with us," Obama, who plans to visit Capitol Hill on Friday in support of health reform, told reporters.

The AMA's backing is also important, he said, because "the doctors of America know what needs to be fixed with our health care system." (His full remarks are below.)

The AMA backed the Democratic bill, plus a companion bill that would shield doctors from cuts in Medicare reimbursements.

"The time to make health system reform a reality is now,” J. James Rohack, AMA president, said in a statement. "These two bills were introduced together, and they need to be passed together. Both are essential to achieving meaningful health system reform this year."

While the health bill is "not perfect," on balance it "is consistent with our principles of pluralism, freedom of choice, freedom of physician practice and universal access," he added. "It will significantly expand health insurance coverage to Americans to empower patient and physician decision making; institute meaningful insurance market reforms; make substantial investments in quality; institute prevention and wellness initiatives; provide incentives to states that adopt certificate of merit and/or early offer liability reforms, and reduce administrative burdens."

Earlier today, the AARP officially announced its endorsement despite concerns about potential cuts for members enrolled in Medicare "plus" plans.

The group, however, focused on the provisions that it says will "curb insurance companies’ discrimination against older Americans and Medicare improvements that strengthen benefits while protecting the program for future generations."

“Our goals have always been to make health coverage more affordable for our younger members, those aged 50 to 64, and to protect Medicare for seniors,” Deborah Banda, AARP Massachusetts state director, said in a statement. “Having reviewed the Affordable Health Care for America Act, we believe it meets these goals by improving benefits for people in Medicare – including closing the Medicare prescription drug coverage gap, the dreaded “doughnut hole” – and making health insurance market reforms to help ensure affordable health coverage for every American.”

By Lisa Wangsness, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- Governor Deval Patrick and House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo met with the state's congressional delegation at the Capitol this morning to discuss a variety of issues, including the national health care overhaul the House may begin voting on this weekend.

Patrick said the economic woes confronting Massachusetts were also a primary focus of the talks, which those who participated in them said also covered education, transportation and global warming.

"We are trying to project a reality to the public that is so in our working relationship -- we are working closely together, trying as best we can, with the tools we have, to bring some relief to people who are suffering and some hope to everybody," he said.

Patrick, who met with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Wednesday, said he was trying to make sure that the federal health care bills taking shape would not harm the state's health care system, which depends heavily on support from the federal government and provides far more generous subsidies for low-income people than the federal proposals on the table, and would provide the state the flexibility it needs to work on cost containment.

Representative Edward Markey, a Democrat from Malden and the dean of the delegation, said he is certain the House version of the legislation, which is scheduled to be voted on Saturday evening, would benefit Massachusetts.
"Our delegation is supporting the legislation because we know it does help Massachusetts," he said.

On his whirlwind two-day visit to Washington, Patrick is also meeting with other top administration officials, top Senate Democrat Harry Reid, and Massachusetts wounded at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The governor is scheduled to have a brief audience this afternoon with his friend and ally, President Obama.

The Senate environment committee this morning passed a sweeping climate change bill co-sponsored by Senator John F. Kerry.

The vote came without any Republican support -- in fact, no GOP senators were present because they were boycotting the proceedings until a fuller economic analysis of the legislation.

The panel did not consider any amendments to the bill, which will now be merged with bills being written in other Senate committees, the Associated Press reports.

In the face of the GOP boycott, Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, announced Wednesday that he, Republican Lindsey Graham, and Independent Joe Lieberman are trying to find a compromise that could draw a modicum of bipartisan support and pass the Senate. In June, the House passed its own version, co-authored by Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts.

UPDATE: Even though he's working on a more bipartisan deal, Kerry today applauded the committee's Democrat-only 11-1 vote.

“Congratulations to Chairman Barbara Boxer who this morning advanced landmark legislation out of her committee. She did so under the toughest of circumstances, after months of meetings, deliberations, and vigorous debate. This wasn’t easy, but her commitment was resolute. Today’s step in the process sends a clear message to the world that the United States is serious about tackling climate change and securing our clean energy future," he said in a statement.

“Working with the leaders of five other committees, building support from Democrats and Republicans across the ideological spectrum, the hard work continues on the path to 60 votes in the Senate under the leadership of Majority Leader Reid. We should remember that the 2008 Republican presidential nominee called for strong, mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions, and Sen. Lindsey Graham has joined us in this year’s fight. We can rediscover bi-partisan progress once again. Chairman Boxer and I are determined to see this Congress pass a strong climate bill for the President to sign. This is and has always been a big lift, but heading into Copenhagen, we have momentum on our side.”

Senator Paul G. Kirk Jr. took to the Senate floor today to highlight a rather wonky provision in the health care overhaul legislation -- a national data collection organization to track spending on health programs and its effectiveness.

"We need measures to identify what is wrong with our current health care system, including what is driving the increasingly high cost of care," Kirk said, noting that the industry now totals a mind-boggling $2.33 trillion a year.

"Abundant research and reports have analyzed such questions. What is desperately needed, however, is a central, independent organization that can analyze all of the research performed by various organizations, and make that information readily available to Congress, the Executive Branch, and the American people. That’s an indispensable part of successful health reform. It will give decision-makers easier access to all the knowledge available and eliminate wasteful spending of the hard-earned dollars of American families," the Massachusetts Democrat said.

He noted that the lawmaker he replaced, the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, proposed the Key National Indicator System to provide it. "It will be a non-partisan, independent agency with a public/private partnership. It will foster better relationships between members of the legislative, statistical and scientific communities, and will lead to greater transparency and accountability for spending on national health programs," Kirk said.

His full prepared remarks are below:

By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank, under fire from some fellow Democrats and consumer groups for carving out what they call loopholes in legislation designed to prevent another economic meltdown, said in a letter released tonight that "there may be a problem here'' and that he wants to reconsider.

The Globe reported on Saturday that an array of Democrats, consumer groups, and the chairman of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission were concerned that legislation pushed through the committee by Frank was not strict enough on the trading of derivatives.

Senator Maria Cantwell, a Washington Democrat, said in the article that loopholes played a major role in last year's meltdown and would continue under the bill backed by Frank. Gary Gensler, the CFTC chairman, called for tightening the oversight of derivatives trading would lower the risk of financial problems. A consumer group representative charged that Frank had "walked away" from concerns of unions and other organizations.

On Tuesday, Frank met with representatives of one of the consumer groups that had complained it was not allowed to present its concerns. Following the meeting, Frank sent a letter to Gensler and Mary Schapiro, the chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission, telling them he heard concerns about the bill and wanted "to further clarify the exception" allowing certain types of derivatives trading. The letter was released tonight.

Heather Booth, director of Americans for Financial Reform, said in an interview that she raised concerns about loopholes in the legislation and she said Frank responded that he would try to tighten such exemptions. Booth said she left the meeting encouraged. Booth stressed, however, that her group still has concerns about whether all of the loopholes will be closed.

"It's not over," she said.

The derivatives measure has already passed through Frank's committee. Frank said in his letter that he would try to amend the legislation when it reaches the House floor.

The trading of derivatives is one of the most controversial elements of financial reform. Derivatives are financial instruments whose value is based on underlying assets, such as real estate. They are used to bet or hedge on how those assets will change in value. The collapse of one type of derivative, an insurance product for subprime mortgages called credit-default swaps, played a major role in last year's financial crisis.

Frank has long said that he wanted to crack down on financial institutions that engage in derivatives trading, but he was concerned that he didn't want to hurt "end users" such as corporations that use the financial product to hedge against day-to-day business risks, such as currency fluctuations. As a result, certain end users were exempted from some of the oversight.

But critics of the legislation said they were concerned that the exemptions were so large that they could lead to risky trading that could put the economy at risk. Concerns were also raised that financial institutions could take advantage of the loopholes to avoid scrutiny.

Senators John F. Kerry and Paul G. Kirk Jr. praised the passage this afternoon of extended unemployment benefits expected to help as many as 40,000 Massachusetts residents.

The two Bay State senators had written top Senate Democrat last month urging him to bring the bill to the floor as quickly as possible, before the benefits ended. More information on the benefits is available here.

“Families across Massachusetts are hurting,” Kirk said in a statement. “With the unemployment rate unacceptably high and the winter months approaching, impossible decisions about whether to turn on the heat or put food on the table loom in many households in the Commonwealth. Passage of the Unemployment Insurance benefits extension will provide greater hope to those who continue to search for work during these harsh economic times.”

“This extension of a critical safety net will make it easier for families across Massachusetts to hang on in the toughest economy since the Great Depression,” Kerry added. “I am pleased that my Senate colleagues have joined Senator Kirk and I in recognizing the urgent need to protect our families.”

By Lisa Wangsness, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- Americans' opinion of the health care proposals now before Congress is eerily similar to public opinion of the Clinton health reform initiatives in 1994, according to an analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine today -- and that may not bode well for Democrats.

In theory, Americans think the health care system needs to be fixed and they like many of the ideas Democrats are promoting. But they don't like the specific proposals taking shape because they do not think they will benefit them personally.

The report, an in-depth look at more than 30 polls conducted this fall and during the same period in 1994, when the Clinton health reform effort was gasping its last breaths, was co-authored by Robert J. Blendon, a Harvard professor and a leading specialist on health care and public opinion whom congressional leaders of both parties have consulted.

Critics are likely to point out that it is impossible to compare the two periods -- in the fall of 1994, Clinton had been president for a year longer than President Obama has now. Obama has had much more cooperation from Congress than Clinton has had, thanks partly to a difference in strategy. Obama allowed Congress to handle the details of the lawmaking process, while Clinton created resentment among lawmakers by employing a secretive process within the executive branch.

At this time in 1993, the parallel point in the Clinton presidency, Clinton had not yet even introduced bills; this time, five congressional committees have passed legislation, and all of the bills approach the problem of how to insure nearly 50 million Americans without coverage in basically the same way.

But Blendon's analysis hones in on a key point that Democrats are likely to pay increasing attention to, particularly after this week's elections put them on notice that voters remain deeply concerned about the economy and restless with their political leadership.

After months of bashing the Democratic bills, House Republicans have come up with their own health care proposal.

The near-final draft focuses more on cutting costs than on covering the uninsured. And it comes in at 230 pages, compared to the 1,990-page behemoth that Democrats plan to bring to the House floor for a vote this week.

UPDATE: Late this afternoon, Republicans announced that party Chairman Michael Steele, House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence and other House members will hold a 12-hour online town hall marathon -- from 1 p.m. EST Thursday to 1 a.m. EST Friday.

"This online health care forum named 'Pelosi Plan Exposed' will ... expose the 12 truths of Nancy Pelosi’s health care bill. House Republicans will also promote and discuss the GOP health care legislation introduced in the House this week," the announcement said.

Republicans plan to offer their bill as an alternative on the floor. It does not require employers to offer coverage and does not require individuals to obtain, and does not ban insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. It most certainly does not include any kind of "public option" government plan to compete with private insurers.

Rather, the GOP plan incorporates some tried -- and Democrats would argue tired -- prescriptions: more health savings accounts, limits on pain and suffering awards in medical malpractice cases, and more leeway to sell health insurance to be sold across state lines.

"Americans want a step-by-step, common-sense approach to health care reform, not Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s costly, 1,990-page government takeover of our nation’s health care system. Republicans’ alternative solution focuses on lowering health care premiums for families and small businesses, increasing access to affordable, high-quality care, and promoting healthier lifestyles – without adding to the crushing debt Washington has placed on our children and grandchildren," House Republicans said in releasing their plan.

House Republicans this morning released the full text of their plan, available here. (Their summary of the plan is below.)

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs quickly noted how long it took Republicans to roll out their health care alternative and that it does not include "banning insurance companies from discrimination against sick people."

But Gibbs went on to say during his daily briefing that the Obama will continue to try to work with Republicans.

Congressional Democrats were even more dismissive of the GOP plan.

The No. 2 House Democrat, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, told the Associated Press that the Republican alternative "does little to provide security and stability to all Americans, doesn't provide insurance availability for all Americans, does little to expand access to coverage."

"Ours is vastly superior and we think the American public will think that," Hoyer added.

The Democratic National Committee called the GOP bill the "Health Insurance Company Protection Act.”

“It’s appalling that John Boehner and Republicans in Congress would rather maintain the status quo and allow insurance companies to continue engaging in unfair practices that boost their profits at the expense of consumers than pass the health insurance reform American families and businesses so desperately need," Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, a DNC co-chairwoman, said in a statement.

"We have said for some time that Republicans are more interested in protecting the health insurance industry than in helping consumers - and the plan Republicans are putting forward is all the proof anyone would need to know we've been telling the truth. The Republican plan amounts to a ‘Health Insurance Company Protection Act’ and shows once and for all that Republicans don’t want real reform and will fight to protect the status quo every step of the way. At a time when health insurance costs are skyrocketing and families fear losing their coverage if someone gets sick, the last thing we need is to give insurance companies another break. Passing the Republicans’ bill would be worse than passing no reform at all," she added.

“It’s time for Republicans to get the message: Americans want real reform. Instead of handing out favors to big insurance companies, Republicans should work with President Obama and Democrats in Congress to pass the health insurance reform our country needs.”

"This is it?" asked Americans United for Change, a liberal-labor coalition supporting the Democratic bills. "Only 139 days after promising a better proposal for health insurance reform, the Republican House Leadership are today proudly waving in the air a thin outline of a bill that ought to be named the ‘Perpetuate the Status Quo to Protect Insurance Industry Profits Act of 2009.’

"Congressional Republicans say their bill will show they mean business -- except that business is the health insurance industry, and their bill is all about protecting its massive profits. And demonstrating just how serious congressional Republicans are about reform, they’ve decided to omit reforms the American people support the most -- namely the GOP bill does nothing to end the unscrupulous insurance industry practices of denying coverage to Americans who are sick or have ‘pre-existing’ conditions," the group added.

By Farah Stockman, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- Newspapers in Pakistan love conspiracy theories, and the most recent one concerns an unpaid intern who worked for Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry: Zain H. Qureshi, the son of Pakistan's foreign minister.

Word of the young Qureshi's internship in Kerry's office during the negotiations over a $7.5 billion aid package to Pakistan spawned a flurry of speculation that the 19-year-old college student might actually have helped author the controversial legislation. The aid bill has also led to criticism of Pakistan's ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, who is on leave from Boston University.

One columnist for The News, a Pakistani newspaper, blasted the internship as a special privilege for the elite. She criticized Kerry as a "Boston Brahmin" and compared his aristocratic roots to Qureshi's powerful tribe.

"These guys claim to fame is blue-blooded ancestry, wealth, influence and the right to rule," she wrote.

The News columnist speculated that Qureshi had "gone into hiding" since she couldn't reach him on the phone number on a business card. The Pakistani embassy told the Globe that he simply returned to university in London. (Attempts to reach the young Qureshi via Facebook were unsuccessful.)

Another publication, Pakistan Daily, asked whether the internship made Pakistan's foreign minister beholden to Kerry and weakened his ability to defend Pakistan's interests.

"If you are a father, you develop a soft corner for the powerful man who has given your son an entry job in a powerful place," Pakistan Daily wrote.

A spokesman at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said that Qureshi "had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do" with the aid package "or any other piece of legislation" and that he played no part in any topic related to Pakistan, India, or Afghanistan.

He said the young Qureshi worked in Kerry's Senate office, not the office of the Foreign Relations Committee that Kerry leads. The only thing he had to do with South Asia was drafting a memo at his own initiative about Sri Lanka for one of Kerry's staffers.

The highest-profile elections around the country on Tuesday anointed obvious winners and losers, but the races also brought some collateral political damage.

While Republicans celebrated their wins for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, the White House is licking its wounds.

It had basically written off Democrat Creigh Deeds, who was beaten badly by Republican Bob McDonnell in Virginia, where the electorate that turned out on Tuesday looked far different than the one that a year ago made President Obama the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state since 1964.

But the White House invested more in New Jersey, where incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine was ousted by Republican Chris Christie despite several appearances by President Obama and an effort by his grassroots organization to rekindle the magic of 2008.

And in both New Jersey and Virginia, exit polls suggested that many of the independent voters who flocked to Obama went toward Republicans.

UPDATE: White House spokesman Robert Gibbs gave its spin today, insisting that the New Jersey and Virginia results reflected "very local issues that didn't involve the president."

Voters were worried about the economy, Gibbs told reporters, adding, "I don't think the president needed an election or an exit poll to come to that conclusion."

Predictably, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele sought to make the most out of the wins. He noted that it was the first time since 1997 that Republicans had swept the races for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general in Virginia. "The Republican Party’s overwhelming victory in Virginia is a blow to President Obama and the Democrat Party. It sends a clear signal that voters have had enough of the president’s liberal agenda," Steele said in a statement.

Steele saw even more import in the New Jersey result: “In a state that overwhelmingly voted in favor of President Obama, this stunning defeat of Corzine sends a clear message to Democrats across the country. Americans have grown sick and tired of big government and reckless spending, and this vote is a sound rejection of the far-left policies that are hurting our nation. While the White House sent their political machine to New Jersey in full force – President Obama and Vice President Biden each campaigning in the state 3 times – even that was not enough to convince voters to ignore the realities of their harmful liberal agenda. I fully expect this trend to continue in the coming months, and President Obama and Democrats should have reason to fear the upcoming elections in 2010.”

His Democratic counterpart, Tim Kaine, downplayed the results and their national significance. "In both Virginia and New Jersey we had strong candidates who were running against a significant historical tide and faced uphill battles from the start of this campaign. In New Jersey, the party in power in the White House hasn't won the governor's office since 1985 and the party in power in the White House hasn't won the governor's office in Virginia since 1977. It would have been historic if not unprecedented to win one or both of these races given historical trends," Kaine said in a statement. "These races turned on local and state issues and circumstances and on the candidates in each race - and despite what some will certainly claim - the results are not predictive of the future or reflective of the national mood or political environment."

But in the special congressional election in upstate New York, Bill Owens became the first Democrat to win in more than a century -- after Republican fratricide that exposed deep divisions in the party.

The official GOP candidate withdrew from the race at the last minute because conservatives including Sarah Palin backed third-party Conservative Doug Hoffman. Palin and those others who bucked the GOP are now out on the limb.

Democrats argued that election would have more meaning going forward.

“This election represents a double-blow for national Republicans and their hopes of translating this summer’s ‘tea party’ energy into victories at the ballot box," Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen said in a statement. "Not only did eight extreme right-wing groups spend more than $1 million to drive the moderate Republican – and the NRCC’s chosen candidate – out of the race. Now, after losing a seat that was held by Republicans for nearly 120 years, they have to deal with an emboldened and well-funded far right-wing that refuses to tolerate moderate Republicans with differing opinions."

Republicans followed through this morning on their threat to boycott a Senate committee's work this week on a sweeping climate change bill.

The only one to show up, the Associated Press reports, was George Voinovich of Ohio, the ranking Republican on the environment committee, and he only attended to explain why the GOP is staying away. He said the tactic "is not a ruse" to block the bill, but reflects concern that the full economic impact of the bill has not been studied or made clear.

Many Republicans deride the cap-and-trade system at the heart of the legislation's heart as a job killer and energy tax hike. And a high-profile Republican whom Democrats had hoped would cross the aisle -- Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who co-authored an op-ed on climate change with Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, a lead sponsor of the bill -- is now vocally opposed.

That dims the prospects of the Senate passing a bill. The Democratic-controlled House passed its version in June.

President Obama's grassroots group sent an email to supporters whose senators sit on the environment committee urging them to contact their lawmakers.

"It's essential that we demonstrate that voters across the country strongly support bold action to build America's new energy future,"
wrote Organizing for America political director Addisu Demissie.

Kerry on Monday called for Republicans to stay engaged.

“Over the years, whether it was with the leadership of Sen. Jack Heinz, Sen. John McCain, or Sen. John Warner, we’ve made progress on climate change when we’ve been able to overcome partisan divisions. We’ve never needed to do that more than today," he said in a statement. "We should remember that the GOP’s 2008 presidential nominee called for strong, mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions as part of his campaign, and Sen. Lindsey Graham has joined us in this year’s fight. Chairman Boxer is determined to see this Congress pass a strong climate bill for the President to sign. I’d urge everyone to come back to the table, reengage, and work together to move the process forward. ”

It's gut check time, a liberal-labor coalition is telling wavering members of Congress.

The latest TV spot on health care from Americans United for Change tries to remind lawmakers that some of the biggest advances did not come until after lots of controversy -- and that it's time to buck up as the House prepares to vote this week on the health care overhaul.

"A great American once said that you can’t have the rain without the thunder and lightning," the announcer says over an animation of a big storm. "Social Security, child labor laws, Medicare, even the creation of the national parks. They were all born in controversy."

As the skies clear in the image, the announcer continues: "But after the storm they all became essential parts of the American landscape. Ask your members of Congress to take a vote they will be proud of for generations to come. Ask them to vote yes to make health care a right for every American."

Republicans have criticized the Democratic health care overhaul in a lot of ways: as a government takeover, as a huge tax increase, as a job killer, as rationing by death panels.

But worse than terrorism?

That's a new one -- and it came out of the mouth today of a Republican congresswoman from North Carolina.

"I believe that the greatest fear that we all should have ... to our freedom comes from this room, this very room, and what may happen later this week in terms of a tax increase bill masquerading as a health care bill," Representative Virginia Foxx said on the House floor. "I believe we have more to fear from the potential of that bill passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country."

The Democratic National Committee quickly pounced: "It is outrageous that anyone would compare the action of terrorists to efforts to help American families get secure, stable and affordable health insurance," said DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse.

Senator John F. Kerry, who played a key role in persuading Afghan President Hamid Karzai to accept a run-off election, is trying to put the best face on the Nov. 7 revote being called off after challenger Abdullah Abdullah withdrew over the weekend.

Abdullah's decision -- he complained that there would be as much fraud by Karzai's forces as what marred the first round -- made Karzai the winner by default. But it does nothing to help build Karzai's legitimacy as President Obama makes a fateful decision on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan.

"This is one of many critical moments for Afghanistan. President Hamid Karzai deserves credit for his willingness to engage in the runoff election, and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah deserves credit for showing restraint throughout this difficult period. I applaud Dr. Abdullah for urging his supporters to avoid violence, and for refraining from actions which could tear the country apart rather than help bring it together. With the election concluded, it is an opportunity for the government of President Karzai to demonstrate genuine progress in combating corruption, establishing rule of law, and bringing measurable improvement to peoples' lives,” Kerry, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.

"It is my hope that all Afghans -- those who supported President Hamid Karzai, those who supported Dr Abdullah, and those who supported other candidates during the election -- will now join together to build a better future for their nation. This is a moment when fundamental change is not only possible, but absolutely essential."

UPDATE: President Obama called Karzai today to congratulate him -- but also to press for reform.

"Although the process was messy, I'm pleased to say that the final outcome was determined in accordance with Afghan law, which I think is very important, not only for the international community that has so much invested in Afghan success, but most importantly, is important for the Afghan people that the results were in accordance with and followed the rules laid down by the Afghan constitution," Obama told reporters.

"I did emphasize to President Karzai that the American people and the international community as a whole want to continue to partner with him and his government in achieving prosperity and security in Afghanistan. But I emphasized that this has to be a point in time in which we begin to write a new chapter based on improved governance, a much more serious effort to eradicate corruption, joint efforts to accelerate the training of Afghan security forces so that the Afghan people can provide for their own security. That kind of coordination and a sense on the part of President Karzai that after some difficult years in which there has been some drift, that in fact he's going to move boldly and forcefully forward and take advantage of the international community's interest in his country to initiate reforms internally, that has to be one of our highest priorities," the president said, recounting the conversation.

"He assured me that he understood the importance of this moment, but as I indicated to him, the proof is not going to be in words, it's going to be in deeds. And we are looking forward to consulting closely with his government in the weeks and months to come to assure that the Afghan people are actually seeing progress on the ground."

If nothing else, the Republican National Committee knows how to adjust on the fly.

Until Saturday, it was firmly behind New York assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, the official GOP candidate in the special election Tuesday in the upstate 23rd Congressional District.

But Scozzafava dropped out, in the face of an insurgent campaign by Conservative Doug Hoffman, who drew backing from Sarah Palin and others on the right wing of the party. Then on Sunday, she endorsed Democrat Bill Owens for the seat, which was vacated when President Obama tapped John McHugh for Army secretary.

Democrats are chortling over the happenings, asserting that it shows how divided the Republican Party is.

UPDATE: Vice President Joe Biden campaigned today for Democrat Owens, appealing to moderate Republicans and taking some shots at Palin and other conservatives.

"We aren't asking you to switch your party," Biden said at a rally in Watertown, N.Y. "We are just saying join us in teaching a lesson to those absolutists who say no dissent is permitted within your own party."

Today to keep the traditionally GOP seat, the RNC put up a radio ad with a full-throated endorsement of Hoffman -- with nary a mention of the mid-course correction.

"The eyes of the nation are on the North Country,” the announcer says. “What we decide on Tuesday, will echo from Albany to Washington.”

“Whose side are you on?” the narrator continues. “The Pelosi/ Patterson tax and spend train wreck? Or do you believe in Republican conservative values, like thrift, personal responsibility, and family. Let’s tell the liberals, enough is enough. No more bailouts, taxes and budget busting spending. It’s time to create jobs, with proven conservative ideas like lower taxes. Let your voice be heard, join the movement to bring real conservative change. Tell the politicians, no more, we won’t let you bankrupt America.

"We need conservative leaders who stand up for our values. Fight Back! Vote conservative, it matters like never before.”

Democratic National Committee spokesman Hari Sevugan responded to the GOP radio ad:

"We are honestly baffled as to why the GOP would want to shine the national spotlight on a race that shows how their party is being hijacked by its extreme right flank. Regardless of the outcome, the RNC has already lost this race at the point where the candidate they backed was driven-out by a faction of their party that seems to be operating with unchecked, unbridled power. With its knee-jerk reaction to the chaos in the NY-23, the RNC has shown that they are just along for the ride, powerless to stop the Limbaughs and Palins of the party who seek to narrow the GOP to only those who agree with their far-right ideology."

The Obama administration said this afternoon that more than 640,000 jobs have been saved or created under President Obama's economic stimulus plan at state and local governments, nonprofit groups, and universities.

The 640,329 are in reports covering approximately $160 billion, which represents a little less than half of the funds spent through Sept. 30. Counting jobs linked to $288 billion in tax cuts, White House officials say the $787 billion stimulus plan has already created or saved more than 1 million jobs.

“These reports are strong confirmation that the Recovery Act is responsible for over one million jobs so far and we are on-track to create and save 3.5 million jobs through the Recovery Act by the end of next year. This is another encouraging sign of progress following yesterday’s news that the economy has begun to grow again for the first time in more than a year, but the President and I will not be satisfied until monthly reports show net job growth. We are working every day to create more jobs and we will continue to report on our progress doing so with the Recovery Act in the same transparent way we did today,” Vice President Joe Biden, who is overseeing the stimulus, said in an event with Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger, the California Republican, and Martin O’Malley, the Maryland Democrat.

The official numbers were posted late this afternoon on the website of the independent board overseeing the stimulus. The state-by-state breakdown can be viewed here.

A separate report released today by Jared Bernstein, Biden's chief economist, asserted that the new data confirms the administration is on-track to meet its goal of creating and saving at least 3.5 million jobs by next year. The report also found that the states with the highest unemployment rates nationwide reported 25 percent more jobs created and saved per capita than the nation as a whole.

The government numbers include 23,533 jobs that officials say were retained as a result of spending $1.9 billion in federal stimulus money over the past eight months in Massachusetts. Governor Deval Patrick announced that estimate on Wednesday, but then on Thursday announced he would eliminate nearly 1,000 state jobs to help close a $600 million budget gap.

But the Republican National Committee is aggressively disputing the numbers, citing an Associated Press report this week that an earlier stimulus status report had overstated the jobs numbers.

"Today's release from the White House will be the fourth job report in the last two months," it said today. "With a pattern of these White House 'jobs created or saved' reports being published in close proximity to releases of real data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (showing continuing job loss and rising unemployment), it is clear the Obama administration is trying to cover up economic reality by manufacturing job numbers out of thin air."

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John F. Kerry is welcoming the apparent deal in Honduras that could return President Manuel Zelaya to office.

The agreement, announced late Thursday by the Organization of American States, could help end the dispute over the June 28 coup in the Central American nation that ousted Zelaya from power and put Roberto Micheletti into office. The agreement would create a power-sharing government and pledge both to recognize the results of the Nov. 29 presidential elections.

There has been a rollicking debate in Washington and foreign policy circles about how aggressively the US should be pushing for Zelaya's reinstatement .

“I welcome the agreement ending the crisis in Honduras," Kerry said in a statement. "The restoration of democracy is an historic accomplishment for the Honduran people . The accord provides a roadmap for elections on November 29, but success will depend on rigorous international monitoring of the accord’s implementation.

“I also want to congratulate Costa Rican President Arias, OAS Secretary General Insulza, and Assistant Secretary Tom Shannon and his team. With this crisis resolved, I look forward to the speedy Senate confirmation of Mr. Shannon as our Ambassador to Brazil and Dr. Arturo Valenzuela as Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs,” the Massachusetts Democrat added.

Representative Bill Delahunt said late today that the National Park Service has decided to keep its Boston regional office open.

“The federal government’s presence in New England has been reduced significantly during the past eight years, and the recent plan to dismantle the National Park Service Regional office made no sense at all,” Delahunt said in a statement. “The National Parks of New England are important conservation areas and need to be supported by a well staffed and fully functioning regional office.”

A proposal would have closed the Boston office at 15 State St., and moved its operations to Philadelphia, reducing the number of Boston jobs from 107 to 45. Delahunt and other members of the Massachusetts delegation wrote Parks Service Director Jonathan Jarvis in protest.

In a speech today, Senator Paul G. Kirk Jr. seconded former Senator Edward W. Brooke, who even as he received Congress's highest civilian honor Wednesday admonished lawmakers for partisan warfare.

"I am proud that Massachusetts sent Ed Brooke to Washington, and we saw yesterday what our state long ago saw in him: his strength, his wisdom, his decency, and his deep commitment to meeting the needs of the American people," Kirk said. "Ed Brooke was elected as a Republican, but the people of Massachusetts didn’t see him as a party man. They saw him as a great American, and a model politician. They supported him because they understood that difficult times require statesmen who can work across party lines."

And that bipartisan spirit should start with the health care overhaul, Kirk told his colleagues.

"We are poised to enact the most significant domestic legislation since the civil rights era. I know that each and every senator has deeply held beliefs about how we can best reform our health care system -- and that those deeply held beliefs will sometimes collide. We should and we will have a vigorous debate in this chamber," said the former Democratic Party chairman.

"But that debate should reflect a level of the civility and the cooperation that is equal to the magnitude of what is at stake for American families. It should reflect the spirit of teamwork and collaboration that we always saw in statesmen like Ed Brooke -- and Ted Kennedy. Our times, and our nation, demand nothing less."

His full prepared remarks are below:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this morning unveiled the health care overhaul bill that is to go the floor next week for a vote.

At a pep rally-style event in front of the Capitol, she said that Congress is "about to deliver on the promise" of making affordable health care available to all with a bill that would extend coverage to 36 million more Americans and ban insurers from denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions.

On a major point of contention, the bill includes a "public option" that would let the government sell insurance in competition with private insurers.

The bill, pegged to cost $894 billion over 10 years, would require nearly all Americans by 2013 to obtain coverage, either through their employer, a government program, or new purchasing exchanges. The plan also calls for a significant expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state health program for the poor. And it would impose a requirement on employers to offer insurance to their workers or face penalties.

The bill has been posted online and is available here.

If the House passes a bill, it would have to be melded with the version that comes out of the Senate, where top Democrat Harry Reid is still trying to round up the votes to bring his version -- which includes a public option from which states could opt out -- to the floor.

Republicans and other critics quickly attacked the House Democrats' bill as a recipe for government control of health care and for higher costs. Americans for Tax Reform released a list of what it said was more than a dozen new or increased taxes or fees in the bill.

"Over the last several months, the American people have spoken, and it's pretty clear that our Democrat colleagues have not listened. Through the month of August and September, the American people let members of Congress from both sides of the aisle know that they wanted no part of a government-run health care plan," Representative John Boehner of Ohio, the top House Republican, told reporters on Capitol Hill.

"But nothing really has changed over these last couple of months, and yet the Democrats come forward with a bill that really is a government takeover of our health care system. It's not just the so-called government option. It's the over 50 new mandates, bureaucracies, tax hikes, commissions, all of this is going to require tens of thousands of new federal employees, which is clearly designed for a government takeover of our health care system," Boehner added.

"So no listening and 1,990 pages. Now, tell me how -- how we're going to fix our health care system with 1,990 pages of bureaucracy. This is what the American people have been saying over the last few months: Enough is enough."

UPDATE: The AFL-CIO came out this afternoon in praise of the House Democrats' bill, which it much prefers to the one being worked on in the Senate, which would tax high-cost "Cadillac" health plans to help pay for covering more people. Labor says that would hurt working people, who gave up pay raises for those more generous health benefits.

"Today’s release of a progressive health care reform bill by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi puts America’s working families one big step closer to getting quality and affordable health care, and it’s a model for fair financing. The leadership in the House has crafted a fiscally responsible bill that will provide coverage to 96 percent of Americans and successfully works to lower costs, increase choice, expand coverage and stop insurance company abuses. It will reduce our deficit by $30 billion over the next 10 years," AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said in a statement.

"The inclusion of a public plan option ensures that we reduce skyrocketing health care costs by holding insurance companies accountable and forcing them to compete. The public option also ensures that all Americans can get coverage no matter what," he added. "The bill does not attempt to finance reform on the backs of the working middle class. In addition, the employer responsibility provision ensures a fair share of financing from employers and prevents employers from increasing costs for everyone by dumping people into subsidized programs. We look forward to working with the leadership in both the House and the Senate to continue to strengthen these provisions as we move forward to pass real health care reform. We strongly believe that these fair financing elements should be included in the final legislation in order to ensure that we are not asking those who struggle to pay for health care to pay even more."

President Obama issued a statement congratulating House Democrats on their bill, calling it "another critical milestone in the effort to reform our health care system."

"This legislation is the product of unprecedented cooperation and countless hours of hard work by Speaker Pelosi, Chairmen Waxman, Rangel, and Miller, Congressman Dingell, and scores of House members who share my conviction that we can’t wait another year for health insurance reform. They have forged a strong consensus that represents a historic step forward," he said in his statement.

"The House legislation includes critical reforms to the insurance industry, so that Americans will no longer have to worry that they will be denied coverage, or that their coverage will be dropped or watered down when they need it most. I’m also pleased that the bill includes a public option offered in an exchange. As I’ve said throughout this process, a public option that competes with private insurers is the best way to ensure choice and competition that are so badly needed in today’s market. And the House bill clearly meets two of the fundamental criteria I have set out: it is fully paid for and will reduce the deficit in the long term.

"While we know there will may more steps and much spirited debate before a bill reaches my desk, I congratulate the House on their work so far, and I’m confident that members will continue to work together to deliver meaningful reform for America’s families and businesses.”

Meanwhile, Obama is pressing his case for health care reform, speaking this morning to invited small business owners and members of the US Chamber of Commerce and National Federation of Independent Business.

"If we’re serious about strengthening small businesses; if we’re serious about creating a climate where our entrepreneurs can succeed; if we’re serious about giving you the chance to prosper and grow, then we need to pass health insurance reform in the United States of America," he plans to say, according to remarks released in advance by the White House.

"Few have a bigger stake in what happens than all of you. Few have a bigger stake than the men and women who own a small business, work at a small business, or rely on someone who does. Few have a bigger stake in what happens because few are struggling more under the status quo."

His full remarks are below:

Senator John F. Kerry, a key player in the Afghanistan debate, responded this afternoon to a New York Times report that Ahmed Wali Karzai, the Afghan president's brother, is suspected of involvement in the opium trade and is on the CIA payroll.

Kerry said he fears that he and other members of Congress have been misled about Ahmed Karzai's role in drug trafficking, which helps fund the operations of the Taliban insurgents who are taking an increasingly bloody toll on US troops.

“Senior American officials have told me repeatedly that there is no hard evidence linking Ahmed Wali Karzai to drug trafficking. However, after reading press accounts which allege that Mr. Karzai has been on the payroll of the CIA, one of the agencies gathering intelligence about narcotics trafficking in Afghanistan, I have serious questions about the information that Congress is receiving. On questions this serious, it is imperative that we receive reliable, current and accurate information," Kerry said in a statement.

“Reducing corruption and stopping the bribes from drug traffickers are absolutely essential to developing an effective Afghan government. Just this week, three DEA agents gave their lives in the fight against drug trafficking, a chilling reminder of the sacrifices American civilians and troops make in Afghanistan," added Kerry, who helped persuade Afghan President Hamid Karzai to accept a Nov. 7 run-off election.

“We should not condemn Ahmed Wali Karzai or damage our critical relations with his brother, President Karzai, on the basis of newspaper articles or rumors. But the appropriate congressional committees must be immediately provided with the most comprehensive and untainted information about his alleged entanglements.”

President Obama's to-do list today includes two ceremonies that add to the legacy of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

The president spoke at the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony this morning for former Senator Edward W. Brooke -- an honor that Kennedy pushed persistently for the first African-American elected to the US Senate.

Then this evening, Obama will speak at a reception marking the passage of a hate crimes bill that Kennedy pushed for a decade. That bill expands current federal law to include crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability and is named for Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student murdered 11 years ago.

UPDATE: Shepard's parents and Kennedy's family, including his widow Vicki, attended the bill signing ceremony. Obama said he was proud of the work that Kennedy did to make the law possible.

Abraham H. Foxman, Anti-Defamation League national director, also attended the signing ceremony and later issued a statement: “The passage of this important, comprehensive and inclusive federal hate crimes law was long overdue. For 12 long years we have worked hard with coalition partners to build the case in Washington that this law was not just necessary, but vital to ensure that all victims of hate crimes would be covered, and that local and federal officials would have the tools they need to prosecute these horrific crimes to the fullest extent of the law. The passage of this bill is a monumental achievement, and a great day for America.”

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, who is also seeking Kennedy's seat, said the new hate crimes law fills a gap in enforcement. She joined 25 other attorneys general from across the country who wrote to congressional leaders to support the legislation.

“The Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Prevention Act provides federal authorities with critical tools to fight violent acts motivated by bias and hate, and I am very pleased that President Obama has signed it into law,” she said in a statement. “Although it is the states’ primary responsibility to enforce criminal law in our respective states, federal assistance is critical in fighting hate crimes and their effects on victims and communities. The HCPA provides a valuable backstop for situations in which local authorities are either without jurisdiction or resources to act. It also takes an important step in protecting our civil rights by expanding the federal law to protect categories of gender, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.”

The Senate gave final approval to the bill last week by attaching it to a defense appropriations bill that Obama signed.

Before the signing of the defense bill, Obama and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said it is a major first step toward reforming military spending so that it focuses on the biggest threats facing the country and rooting out waste and unnecessary projects.

Obama declared it a victory over the special interests -- and some lawmakers -- who have protected those projects.

His full remarks are below:

By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- A legendary Massachusetts senator -- backed by another legendary Bay State senator -- today received the highest honor Congress can bestow. Edward W. Brooke was given the Congressional Gold Medal.

Brooke, the first African-American to be elected to the Senate by popular vote, was feted by President Obama and congressional leaders in the Capitol Rotunda, two years after the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy collected the 67 Senate votes required to give the medal.

“Ed Brooke eminently deserves this distinguished award for his extraordinary life and commitment to public service. As an outstanding public official and true statesman, he’s fought for equal opportunity and equal justice for all throughout his brilliant career. He broke down many barriers and reached across party lines to do so, and I congratulate him on this special tribute by Congress,” Senator Paul G. Kirk Jr., who took Kennedy's seat in the Senate until the January special election, said in a statement today.

Obama said that Brooke "moved the arc of history" and that many, including him, followed in his legacy.

Brooke was truly a pioneer, successfully facing segregation in the Army and in Boston's legal community, as well as in politics, Obama said.

"Ed was unfazed," the president said, never giving up on the belief that people would ultimately judge him not on the color of his skin, but on his character, judgment, and policies.

Obama noted that Brooke drew support from across the political spectrum, including feminist Gloria Steinem and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

"That's a coalition builder," Obama said, drawing applause. (His full remarks are below.)

In his opportunity to speak, Brooke chided his former colleagues about working together across the partisan divide. He said there are issues more important than partisan politics: the hungry, the homeless, and diplomacy, among them.

Continuing his advocacy for the District of Columbia, he said he'd trade his medal if it meant voting rights to district residents, who are now represented by a non-voting delegate.

Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts also spoke to honor Brooke.

"The man Massachusetts sent to the Senate was known for his independence, a public servant whose compass was guided not by party, but by conscience," Kerry said. "He was one of the first advocates of legislation to provide affordable housing. And when it was especially difficult, he stood up for affirmative action, desegregation, privacy rights, minority business development, an increase in Social Security benefits and the extension of the Voting Rights Act."

Kerry also noted that Brooke had a long relationship with civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and was one of the first to suggest a national holiday when King was assassinated. (Kerry's full prepared remarks are below.)

Brooke, a Republican who served from 1967 to 1979, was praised by Kennedy in 2007 for an "extraordinary career of breaking down the barriers of race and reaching across party lines to bring people together around common-sense solutions.''

In building support for Brooke's medal, Kennedy reminded his colleagues that Brooke -- despite breaking important racial barriers -- never campaigned as an African-American candidate. When running for attorney general, Kennedy noted in 2007, Brooke said, "I'm not running as a Negro. I never have. I’m trying to show that people can be elected on the basis of their qualifications and not their race."

The ceremony program included a quotation from Brooke. "America's greatness lies in its wondrous diversity. Our magnificent pluralism has made our country great. Our ever-widening diversity will keep us great."

District of Columbia Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton campaigned for Brooke's honor on the House side, lauding the former senator for his work on behalf of full voting rights for District of Columbia residents.

The ceremony "will help drive home the disempowerment of DC residents as Congress gives its highest honor to our native son, who left his hometown, unable to vote for president, mayor, House representative, or senator, and became our nation;s first popularly-elected African-American senator,'' Holmes Norton said in a statement.

Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, the first African American to lead the national party, sent his kudos.

“I want to extend my sincere congratulations to former Senator Brooke on being recognized by Congress with this distinguished award," Steele said in a statement. "As the first African-American elected to the Senate, he is symbolic of efforts by the Republican National Committee to expand our Party among Americans of diverse backgrounds. Senator Brooke’s distinguished accomplishments have greatly contributed to the Republican Party’s history of trailblazers who have made a difference in the lives of Americans through policy and public service. I salute Senator Brooke for his leadership and dedication to our country.”

Congressional leaders decided to hold the ceremony now to ensure that the 90-year-old former lawmaker would be able to attend in person, leadership aides said.

The Congressional Gold Medal started in 1776 as an award to military leaders and has been awarded to such luminaries as Sir Winston Churchill and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair; civil rights leaders Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Height, and Rosa Parks; actors Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra; humanitarians Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa; and athletes Joe Louis and Jackie Robinson.

A day after giving his first floor speech -- on the need for bipartisanship on the health care overhaul -- Senator Paul G. Kirk Jr. returns to the chamber this morning to talk about how the version passed by the Senate health committee would help the elderly and disabled.

Kirk is one of nine freshman Democrats scheduled to give back-to-back speeches, his office said. Each will touch on a different issue or program that "exemplify how health care reform will work and how it is working already."

Kirk's topic is the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, also championed by his mentor and the man he is temporarily replacing, the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

"Here’s how the CLASS Act will help the middle class," Kirk said. "Under the act, a worker in Massachusetts or any other state can choose to pay into a voluntary insurance program through affordable payroll deductions. After five years of those deductions, they would be eligible for a daily cash benefit of $50 if they became disabled. That money can make a huge difference in allowing a disabled person to live with independence and with dignity. For example, it can pay for having a ramp installed in their home or pay for needed transportation or purchase a commuter to work from home and remain self-sufficient."

His full remarks are below:

Senator John McCain, President Obama's Republican foe last year, has largely supported his rival since the election.

But now, the Vietnam War hero and Iraq troop surge supporter is putting increasing pressure on Obama to send more troops to Afghanistan -- and do it soon.

The president has held six war councils and counting to decide the strategy going forward, and some expect him to wait on deciding on his top commander's request for as many as 40,000 additional troops until after the Nov. 7 Afghan presidential run-off election.

But McCain said on "The Early Show" on CBS this morning that the war policy in Afghanistan "has been reviewed time and again" and it's time to act because the long delay "is not helpful to our effort" and is frustrating military commanders and making allies nervous.

And in an op-ed posted online on CNN today, McCain calls on Obama to move as quickly as possible to grant General Stanley McChrystal's request for additional troops.

McCain notes that he supported the Afghanistan strategy that Obama laid out in March, when he announced his decision to dispatch 21,000 more US troops. And the senator also stresses that he backed Obama's appointment of McChrystal as the top US commander on the ground -- so the president should listen to the general now.

"I agree with our commander's assessment of the security situation as 'deteriorating' and that our civilian and military leaders urgently need more resources, including more combat troops, to turn the tide toward success," McCain writes. "I sympathize with our president, because sending men and women into harm's way is the most difficult decision that a commander-in-chief must make. However, Americans are already serving in harm's way in Afghanistan, and the sooner we can provide the reinforcements and resources they need, the safer and more successful they will be."

(Read the full opinion piece here.)

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Representative Niki Tsongas, a Lowell Democrat, is endorsing Attorney General Martha Coakley on Wednesday for the Senate seat formerly held by the late Edward M. Kennedy.

Tsongas is the first member of the Massachusetts congressional delegation to endorse someone other than their colleague, Representative Michael Capuano, in the Dec. 8 Democratic primary.

Capuano has been endorsed by three other congressional members from Massachusetts: Barney Frank, Jim McGovern, John Tierney, and Stephen Lynch.

The Tsongas endorsement is scheduled to take place at 2:30 p.m. at the VFW Post 662 in Lowell.

Massachusetts has never elected a female US senator, and Tsongas is currently the only female member of the state's congressional delegation.

Republicans are trying to tar and tie President Obama with the latest eyebrow-raising remarks from a Florida congressman.

Representative Alan Grayson called a senior Federal Reserve adviser a "K Street whore" in a radio interview last month that is now circulating on Capitol Hill.

Grayson was objecting to opposition to more government oversight from Linda Robertson, a former Enron lobbyist now working for Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, and was referring to K Street, where many lobbyists have their offices in the nation's capital.

"Here I am the only member of Congress who actually worked as an economist, and this lobbyist, this K Street whore, is trying to teach me about economics," Grayson said.

UPDATE: Late this afternoon, after criticism from across the political spectrum, Grayson issued a statement of apology, the Associated Press reports.

"I offer my sincere apology," Grayson said in a statement, just hours after his spokesman had defended his comments. "I did not intend to use a term that is often, and correctly, seen as disrespectful of women."

The Republican National Committee noted that Obama, at a Democratic fund-raiser in Miami Monday night, lumped Grayson in with other members of Congress as "outstanding."

"Alan Grayson's latest comments are disgraceful, inappropriate and disrespectful to women. Last night at the Democratic Party's South Beach fundraiser, President Obama proudly named Grayson an 'outstanding member of Congress.' Americans across Florida and the entire nation can agree that Grayson's comments are not characteristic of an 'outstanding member of Congress.' President Obama should immediately rescind his accolades and condemn Grayson's shameful comments, and Congressman Grayson should issue an apology," RNC Co-Chairman Jan Larimer said in a statement.

Grayson caused an uproar last month by saying on the House floor that the GOP health care plan is that it wants Americans to “die quickly’’ if they get sick. He refused to apologize and became a darling of liberals, appearing several times on MSNBC.

Public support for a public option in health care appears to be growing, according to a new poll.

The NBC/Wall Street Journal survey found that 48 percent support a government-run plan to compete with private insurers and 42 percent oppose it -- the strongest support ever in the survey. Last month, opinion was basically divided with 46 percent in favor and 48 percent against.

The new poll, conducted Thursday through Sunday, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

The top Senate Democrat, Harry Reid of Nevada, revived the possibility of a public option being in the final bill by announcing Monday that he would include one in the version he plans to bring to the full Senate -- albeit with a big exception in that states would be able to opt out.

But at the same time, Reid's move might have cost him a vote of a Senate moderate.

The Associated Press is reporting that Senator Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent who caucuses with Democrats, is saying that while he's "strongly inclined" to vote to bring Reid's health care plan to the Senate floor for debate, he would ultimately vote no because it includes a public option.

Lieberman told the AP that he's worried a public option would be costly to taxpayers and drive up insurance premiums.

UPDATE: But Lieberman told Politico that he would join a Republican filibuster if the bill includes a public option.

"We're trying to do too much at once," Lieberman told Politico. “To put this government-created insurance company on top of everything else is just asking for trouble for the taxpayers, for the premium payers and for the national debt. I don’t think we need it now." 

And Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, the only Republican to support any of the health bills so far, is saying she would vote with fellow Republicans to block the Democratic bill if changes are not made to the version that Reid outlined, the AP reports.

Counting Lieberman, Democrats control 60 votes -- just enough to overcome a possible GOP filibuster -- so Snowe's vote could be crucial.

A populist economic message -- and perhaps a little class warfare -- is alive and well today among Democrats and their allies.

In Washington, Senators John F. Kerry of Massachusetts and Max Baucus of Montana and Representatives Richard Neal of Massachusetts and Charles Rangel of New York introduced bills today that would crack down on wealthy Americans and businesses that hide assets in offshore tax havens.

"A small number of individuals and businesses hide their assets overseas solely in order to shirk their responsibilities, even as the vast majority of hard-working Americans honor the obligations of citizenship and fulfill their responsibilities," President Obama said in a statement cheering them on.

“Shortly after taking office, I laid out a set of proposals to crack down on illegal overseas tax evasion. The legislation introduced today would fulfill that promise, putting a stop to billions of dollars worth of abuses. I look forward to working with Congress to turn these proposals into law so that honest Americans no longer shoulder the burden of the few individuals and businesses that put profit before responsibility,” the president added.

Meanwhile in Chicago, the AFL-CIO is protesting outside the convention of the American Bankers Association.

"We're gathered here today to send a message to the bankers meeting inside, and the message is this: Business as usual is over. We are shutting it down. You work for us-not the other way around," AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said. "Your job is to be stewards of our savings-to put and keep working families in homes, to lend the money companies need to create jobs. And you have failed. You've turned the American economy into your own private casino, gambling away our financial future with our money, driving us to the brink of a second Great Depression, then sticking out your hand for taxpayers to bail you out."

His full prepared remarks are below:

Senator Paul G. Kirk Jr. delivered his first major floor speech today, and he chose a subject close to the heart of the legendary lawmaker he replaced.

And Kirk sounded a theme woven through the late Edward M. Kennedy's 47 years in the Senate -- reaching across the aisle in search of bipartisan compromise on the most important issues facing the nation.

“Of all the issues on which he led the Senate and our nation, the one Ted Kennedy called the cause of his life was the battle for affordable, quality health care," Kirk told his colleagues. "At this moment, we are closer to realizing the long held dream that all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care than at any time in our nation’s history."

But, he added, "At this moment, when America’s families are imperiled by economic hardship and uncertainty, it provides them no comfort to see the United States Senate so politically polarized over an issue that should be bringing us together on their behalf."

When he was sworn in last month, Kirk became the 60th vote in the Senate allied with Democrats, theoretically giving his party enough votes to overcome Republican procedural hurdles and to get a health care bill through the chamber.

Today, Kirk stressed, "This debate should not be about one party reaching 60 votes; it should be about 100 Senators reaching out to each other to reform a health care system so that it better reflects the true values and character of our nation.”

Kirk, a former Kennedy aide and Democratic Party chairman, noted that the late senator gave his first major health care speech 40 years ago, and that Capitol Hill has been littered with unsuccessful efforts at reform since as the estimates of uninsured Americans has ballooned from 25 million to 46 million.

"As this debate continues, I hope we will pause for a moment – to hear Ted Kennedy’s voice in the quiet of our hearts. You and I know, he will urge us to seize this moment – to come together in this common cause, and to make sure, at long last, that all Americans will have access to the quality, affordable health care they have long deserved and so urgently need," said Kirk, standing at the desk where Kennedy's booming voice advocated for civil rights and help for the poor as well as universal health care.

But Kirk, who is serving until a special election on Jan. 19 decides who will serve out Kennedy's term, said he will advocate for a proposal that is causing much of the partisan divide -- a public option.

Republicans say that a government-run plan to compete with private insurers will drive insurance companies out of business and give government too big a role in the health care system.

But Kirk agreed with top Senate Democrat Harry Reid, who announced Monday that a public option would be in the bill that comes to the floor. A public option will "stimulate competition and reduce costs in the health care marketplace," Kirk said.

Kirk also defended the landmark health insurance law in Massachusetts, saying that it is "regrettable" that "special interests who have a financial stake in our failing health care system" have attacked the reform bill and "the success of our reform in Massachusetts."

"Well, let me set the record straight," he is telling the Senate. "First, because of our bipartisan reforms, less than 3% of the Massachusetts population is without health insurance -- lower than any other state. Second, the state’s most respected independent fiscal watchdog concluded that Massachusetts implemented reform in a fiscally responsible and financially sustainable way. Third, unlike every other state, employer-based health insurance is increasing in Massachusetts. Finally, according to a recent statewide poll by the Harvard School of Public Health, 79% of the public -- and practitioners in every sector of the Massachusetts health care system -- including physicians -- strongly support our bipartisan reform."

Fellow Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry and top Senate Democrats, including Dick Durbin of Illinois and Reid, were in the chamber for the speech. Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia came up to Kirk afterwards and congratulated him.

Kirk's full prepared remarks are below:

After days of focusing on his top foreign priority, Senator John F. Kerry returns today to an issue atop his domestic agenda -- global warming and alternative energy.

Kerry, who has emerged as an influential voice in the debate over the US mission in Afghanistan, is pushing for his bill on climate change, which he has portrayed as a national security issue as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

“Today, we have an opportunity to lead the world in rolling back the urgent threat of climate change,” Kerry told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which today is starting its debate and revisions to the legislation. The panel's chairwoman, Senator Barbara Boxer of California, is the chief cosponsor of the bill.

“Climate change and our dependence on foreign oil are a threat to our national security. There’s nothing conservative about remaining indebted to hostile regimes for our energy. It’s time for the Senate to lead and – with an eye toward our best traditions -- find common ground to move the country forward, keep our country safe and strong, and lay the groundwork for decades of economic growth to come.”

More information on the bill is available here, and Kerry's full opening statement is below:

After weeks of uncertainty, the top Senate Democrat announced this afternoon that he wants to include a government-run option as part of the health care overhaul, though it's not clear he has the votes to get it through the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said at a news conference that he favors the contentious public option, which is included in the versions passed by the Senate health committee and three House panels but not the one from the Senate Finance Committee, according to several media organizations.

"While the public option is not a silver bullet, I believe it's an important way to ensure competition and to level the playing field for patients with the insurance industry," Reid said.

Reid threw his support behind a version that would allow states to opt out of offering government-run coverage to compete with private insurers. Under his proposal, states would have until 2014 to do so.

"Under this concept, states will be able to determine whether the public option works well for them and will have the ability to opt out, if they so choose," Reid said. "I believe that a public option can achieve the goal of bringing meaningful reform to our broken system. It will protect consumers, keep insurers honest and ensure competition."

But the opt-out will not please liberal Democrats, who say the public option should be available nationwide and is essential to keeping the insurance industry honest.

President Obama has said he prefers a public option, but is not demanding it as part of a bill he could sign.

Reid said the bill that goes to the Senate floor will also include a provision for nonprofit co-ops as another option for affordable coverage.

He said he is sending his proposal -- which combines elements of the Senate Finance and Senate health bills -- to the Congressional Budget Office for an analysis of how much it would cost. He and Obama are aiming for a plan that comes in at $900 billion over 10 years or less.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs issued a statement on Obama's behalf congratulating Reid, Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, and Senate Christopher Dodd, who shepherded the health committee bill.

“Thanks to their efforts, we’re closer than we’ve ever been to solving this decades-old problem," Gibbs said. "And while much work remains, the President is pleased that at the progress that Congress has made. He’s also pleased that the Senate has decided to include a public option for health coverage, in this case with an allowance for states to opt out. As he said to Congress and the nation in September, he supports the public option because it has the potential to play an essential role in holding insurance companies accountable through choice and competition.”

Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, a Finance Committee member, also applauded Reid for including a public option.

“This is big news, and it’s very good news. Majority Leader Reid is taking the gutsy and appropriate road in fighting for the right policy, something the American people want and an issue on which every Senator should be held accountable," Kerry said in a statement.

"That’s why I voted for it in the Finance Committee and why I’ve advocated for it since day one. Leader Reid has laid out a plan that is reasonable and fair and will help achieve quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans. Ted Kennedy once told me there were many ways to arrive at health care reform, and he always knew that the first step was in finding every possible avenue to fight for the best policy. That’s the tradition the Majority Leader is carrying on today.”

President Obama and his point man in Congress for foreign policy are both focusing on Afghanistan today.

Obama met this morning with his national security team to discuss US policy in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan as pressure builds on the president to decide on his top commander's request for as many as 40,000 more troops.

The White House said expected attendees included Vice President Joe Biden (via videoconference), Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, National Security Adviser General James Jones, Deputy National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

They met as word comes from Afghanistan that 14 American military members and civilians were killed in two helicopter crashes.

This afternoon, Obama traveled to Jacksonville, Fla., where he will speak to and meet with sailors and Marines.

UPDATE: In his speech at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Obama did not give any significant hints on his Afghanistan decision. But he did mention that debate as he pledged anew not to send US forces into combat unless absolutely necessary.

"While I will never hesitate to use force to protect the American people or our vital interests, I also promise you this -- and this is very important as we consider our next steps in Afghanistan: I will never rush the solemn decision of sending you into harm’s way," he said. "I won’t risk your lives unless it is absolutely necessary. And if it is necessary, we will back you up. Because you deserve the strategy, the clear mission, the defined goals and the equipment and support you need to get the job done. That’s the promise I make to you."

Instead, the president spent most of his address thanking the sailors and Marines for their service, mentioning the loss of 14 Americans in separate helicopter crashes in Afghanistan.

"You are the best-trained, best-prepared, best-led force in history. You -- our people -- are our most precious resource," he said.

"We were reminded of this again, with today’s helicopter crashes in Afghanistan. Fourteen Americans gave their lives. And our prayers are with these service members, their civilian colleagues and the families who loved them. And while no words can ease the ache in their hearts today, may they find some comfort in knowing this: like all those who give their lives in service to America, they were doing their duty and they were doing this nation proud."

Obama also promised to make sure members of the military are taken care of when they return home.

"We’re improving care for our wounded warriors, especially those with Post-Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injuries. We’re funding the Post-9/11 GI Bill to give you and your families the chance to pursue your dreams. And we’re making the biggest commitment to our veterans -- the largest percentage increase in the VA budget -- in more than 30 years," he said.

"These are the commitments I make to you; the obligations that your country is honor-bound to uphold. Because you’ve have always taken care of America, and America must always take care of you. Always."

(His full remarks are below.)

About an hour after Obama's strategy session began this morning, Senator John F. Kerry delivered a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations entitled “Afghanistan: Defining the Possibilities” to examine the way forward for US strategy in Afghanistan.

Kerry was on the ground in Afghanistan and Pakistan during a seven-day trip that ended last Wednesday and that culminated in the Senate Foreign Relations chairman playing a key role in persuading Afghan President Hamid Karzai to accept a Nov. 7 runoff election that US officials hope provides legitimacy to the Afghan government.

In his speech, Kerry said that the Afghanistan debate has been oversimplified and that Obama is right to take his time to decide what to do next.

"With certainty, we all know why we invaded Afghanistan. It was not a mistake to go in. We now have to choose a smart way forward so that no one is ever compelled to ask whether we've made a mistake in staying," he said.

"The easiest way to make a mistake, frankly, is to tolerate a debate that sells our country short. In recent weeks, politics has reduced an extraordinarily complex country and mission to a simple, headline-ready “yes or no” on troop numbers. That debate is completely at odds with reality. What we need, above all, what our troops deserve-- and what we haven’t had-- is a comprehensive strategy, military and civilian combined.”

Kerry said that he believes the troop request by General Stanley McChrystal is too expansive. “I am convinced from my conversations with General Stanley McChrystal that he understands the necessity of conducting a smart counterinsurgency in a limited geographic area. But I believe his current plan reaches too far, too fast. We do not yet have the critical guarantees of governance and development capacity. I also have serious concerns about the ability to produce effective Afghan forces to partner with, so we can ensure that when our troops make heroic sacrifices, the benefits to the Afghans are clear and sustainable.”

The senator also hit back at former Vice President Dick Cheney, who said last week that the White House was "dithering" and endangering US troops by taking so long to decide.

"After eight years of neglecting Afghanistan as vice president, Dick Cheney has now come out of retirement to criticize President Obama for taking time to examine assumptions before sending troops into war, this from the man who in 2002 told America, quote, 'The Taliban regime is out of business permanently.' I think this is one time I wish Dick Cheney had been right, but tragically, he wasn't, and he isn't today, and that's why we have to make the tough choices about Afghanistan now," Kerry said.

"Make no mistake: Because of the gross mishandling of this war by past civilian leadership, there are no great options for its handling today. One American officer captured well our lack of a strategy when he said, We haven't been fighting in Afghanistan for eight years. We've been fighting in Afghanistan for one year eight times in a row. That is our inheritance."

His full speech is below:

The No. 2 Republican in the House says there's still daylight for a bipartisan deal on health care.

But what Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia says the GOP would support falls far short of what Democrats and the White House want -- making even more clear how deep and wide the partisan divide is on health care.

"Given the heated rhetoric and sharp partisan divides that have characterized this year's debate, it's easy to forget that there are several key reforms in health care that Democrats and Republicans can agree on," Cantor says in an opinion piece published online on CNN.

He says both parties agree on providing more affordable health coverage, especially for Americans who change jobs; barring insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions; and going some distance on medical malpractice reform.
"Congress can accomplish the dual goals of improving the quality of care in America and trimming the ranks of the uninsured if we focus on what Democrats and Republicans can agree on, rather than on our differences. It's not too late for the majority to change course," he writes.

But Cantor says Democrats' proposals for a public option -- a government plan to compete with private insurers -- is a "poison pill" that would guarantee Republican opposition. And he accuses Democrats of a bill that "dishonestly resorts to a host of budget gimmicks to give the veneer of deficit neutrality over the next decade."

Liberals are trying to intensify their pressure on President Obama for a full-fledged public option as part of the health care overhaul.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee has a petition, website, and a new TV ad urging Obama to insist on a government-run plan to compete with private insurers -- and to stop kowtowing to Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, the only Republican to support the health reform bill so far. She has made clear the most she would support is a public option "trigger" that would go into effect only if private insurers don't provide coverage and cut costs.

The petition, YesWeStillCan.org website, and ad all seek to remind Obama of his campaign pledges that attracted a huge grassroots groundswell that put him in the White House.

In the TV spot, an activist notes that Maine went heavily for Obama last November and that polls show a majority of Maine residents support a public option. "We worked hard for it," the activist says. "We worked hard for you."

The petition echoes, "Every day, insurance companies deny care and let people die. Getting one Republican senator's vote is not worth delaying reform -- too many real lives are at stake. We need you to fight and state clearly that anything less than a strong public option is not change we can believe in."

And Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, criticizes Obama for not putting more pressure on top Senate Democrat Harry Reid for a public option and for telling his grassroots Organizing for America group last week that they should be happy with the bill that doesn't include the government plan. "Understand that the bill that you least like in Congress right now. The one you least like, of the five that are out there, would provide 29 million Americans health care," the president lectured.

Green retorts: "Yay insurance for 29 million people -- by mandating they buy insurance from rip-off artists with no choice of a public option!"

"Here's what the White House needs to understand: Expressing a preference for the public option is not the same as fighting for the public option. Telling Harry Reid 'good luck with that' is not the same as the president saying, 'I am there helping Reid fight for those final votes,' " Green said in a statement.

"Americans clearly favor a strong bill over a bipartisan bill and are clamoring for President Obama to make good on the mandate for sweeping change that was given to him in the 2008 election. President Obama will be judged by many of his biggest 2008 supporters on whether he fights for a strong public option at this critical moment."

A senior White House economic adviser is trying today to make the economic case for a health care overhaul.

Republicans and other critics are warning that the president's proposals to remake such a significant portion of the US economy could hurt growth, balloon the federal deficit, and pinch recession-weary families.

But Christina Romer, chairwoman of White House Council of Economic Advisers, plans to tell the liberal Center for American Progress this afternoon that the only way to get the deficit under control is to trim health care costs, particularly in the government Medicare and Medicaid programs.

"Given the central role of rising health care expenditures, any solution to our long-run budget problem will simply have to include slowing the growth rate of health care costs,” Romer will say, according to advance excerpts released by the White House.

"Some have argued that it is irresponsible to reform our health care system at a time when the budget deficit is so large and our long-run fiscal problems are so severe. I firmly believe the opposite: it is fiscally irresponsible not to do health care reform.

State and local governments and private businesses alike would benefit from the health overhaul, she asserts. "Slowing the growth rate of health care costs will enable firms to once again give raises in the form of take-home pay rather than more expensive health insurance,” Romer plans to say.

“[F]iscally prudent health care reform that expands coverage to tens of millions of Americans and transforms our health care system to one that is higher quality and lower cost is possible.”

Representative Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, a main author of the climate change bill the House passed this summer, announced today that he will go to Copenhagen this weekend for talks in advance of the major global summit in December.

"Markey will meet with other legislators from around the world as part of GLOBE International (Global Legislators Organization for a Balanced Environment) to discuss how other countries are progressing towards creating an effective and fair international climate agreement," his office said.

Many in Congress, however, remain concerned about the cap-and-trade system at the heart of the House bill and a version introduced in the Senate, and it appears unlikely that Congress will pass and President Obama will sign a climate change bill until next year, after the Copenhagen summit.

“These meetings show that political consensus can be reached by the countries integral to reaching an international climate agreement. And though the final global warming treaty will be negotiated by environmental ministers, it will be implemented by legislators," Markey said in a statement.

“When it comes to US participation in international negotiations, House passage of the Waxman-Markey bill, and Senate action on similar legislation, are vital to America’s ability to reach a final agreement. I look forward to helping the Obama administration and other countries reach our ultimate goal of success in Copenhagen and beyond.”

The Senate has passed a bill allowing as many 100,000 $5 gold coins and 500,000 $1 silver coins to be issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Congress authorizing the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for valor.

The most recent recipient was Sergeant Jared C. Monti of Raynham, who died in Afghanistan trying to save his men.

The commemorative coins could raise as much as $8.5 million for the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, the office of Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, a primary sponsor of the bill, said today. The nonprofit foundation distributes information on the medal and has produced more than 100 video histories of recipients, along with educational programs and museum exhibits.

“The Medal of Honor represents men and women in uniform at their very best, courage and patriotism, grit and guts personified,” Kerry said in a statement. “This vote was a humble offering of thanks to Jared Monti and the thousands of American service members who have given so selflessly out of love for their country.”

"We are grateful to all those who wear the uniform of our Armed Forces and serve and sacrifice on behalf of our great nation," added Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and the other main bill sponsor. "The Medal of Honor Commemorative Coin honors those who have distinguished themselves courageously by going beyond the call of duty. We owe these heroes a debt of gratitude that our nation can never fully repay. We must never forget their sacrifice and will always keep the fallen and their families in our thoughts and prayers."

A liberal-labor coalition pushing the health care overhaul is going for a little humor in its attack on the insurance industry.

Americans United for Change today unveiled a satirical web video featuring the story of a four-month-old, 17-pound toddler in Colorado who was denied coverage because he was deemed obese -- a pre-existing condition -- by Rocky Mountain Health Plans, a member of America’s Health Insurance Plans the health insurance industry lobby

“Too fat?!?! You cannot be serious!” a character called "Patriot Baby" says in the video, reminiscent of the E*Trade TV commercials with an adult voice coming out of an infant. “He’s a baby! What’s he supposed to do -- go on 'The Biggest Loser'?”

The public option -- one of the most contentious proposals in the health care fight -- might end up in the Senate health overhaul bill after all.

Several media organizations, including the New York Times and the Associated Press, are reporting this evening that there's no done deal, but there is movement toward including a provision for the federal government to sell insurance in direct competition with private insurers with individual states permitted to drop out of the system.

The Times says that the top Senate Democrat, Harry Reid, is leaning toward including the government-run health insurance plan in the bill he will soon take to the Senate floor. While Republicans and some moderate Democrats oppose the public option, those in favor of it are pushing Reid to force a vote to strip it out of the bill. "The idea is that it's better to show some fight," a senior Democratic aide told the Times.

Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, the only Republican to support the health care bill in the Senate Finance Committee, has made clear she would only support a public plan if it is triggered by private insurers not cutting costs and extending coverage enough.

House Democrats have the public option in the bill they are finalizing, without a provision for states to opt out.

Polls have also shown public support for a public plan to keep private insurers honest, but Republicans and other critics say it would lead to a government takeover of health care.

It's not quite as powerful as he wanted, but President Obama this afternoon praised the approval of a new consumer protection agency designed to prevent abuses by banks, lenders, and others.

The House Financial Services Committee, on a 39-29 vote, endorsed the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, one of the most contentious parts of a financial regulation overhaul that lawmakers hope will avert another meltdown like last year.

Republicans and the industry opposed the new agency and won many exemptions to the agency's oversight, including retailers, auto dealers, real estate brokers, and accountants. The committee's chairman, Barney Frank of Massachusetts, said the exceptions would make clear that the agency will monitor financial products and not every financial transaction of Americans. But he drew the line at Republican proposals, including one that would have exempted student loan providers.

The agency proposal will now be part of the bill that goes to the full House.

"I congratulate the House Financial Services Committee and Chairman Barney Frank on passing a bill out of Committee to establish the Consumer Financial Protection Agency," Obama said in his statement. "The Consumer Financial Protection Agency will prevent predatory lending practices and other abuses and will ensure that consumers get clear information they can understand about financial products like credit cards and mortgages.

"This bill has now passed a major hurdle and this step sends an important signal to the American people that we will not stand by and allow big financial firms and their lobbyists to mobilize against change," the president added. "They are doing what they always do -- descending on Congress, using every bit of influence they have to maintain the status quo that has maximized their profits at the expense of American consumers, despite the fact that recently those same American consumers bailed them out as a consequence of the bad decisions that they made."

Democrats picked a big, highly visible target for the latest in their series of "call 'em out" missives -- GOP chief Michael Steele.

The Democratic National Committee today announced a multimedia effort aiming at the Republican Party chairman for "continuing to spread lies about health insurance reform."

It is using a website and a web video and urging supporters to use Facebook and Twitter to go after Steele, whom the DNC says is spreading misinformation by claiming, among other assertions, that the health care overhaul being pushed by President Obama and congressional Democrats would "dump" millions of Americans out of their insurance and would cut Medicare.

Senator John F. Kerry, just back from a diplomatic mission in Afghanistan, said today that seeing NATO forces fighting alongside Americans convinces him even more of the importance of the alliance born of World War II.

"Let me tell you, whatever our differences, our allies have made enormous sacrifices in Afghanistan. They, too, are serving heroically," Kerry said in his opening statement at a Foreign Relations Committee hearing today on the future of NATO.

"While questions remain on both sides of the Atlantic about the future of our Afghan mission, our confidence in the idea and the cohesion of NATO remains strong. Our commitment to defend our NATO allies is unwavering," he added.

"NATO turned sixty this year. As we all know, there have been times when NATO’s critics called it an alliance in search of a mission. Today, as new challenges multiply and old ones resurface, it has become clear that as long as NATO continues to adapt, it will remain essential going forward."

His full prepared statement is below:

The federal government's watchdog says that most local and state governments have yet to take steps to deal with global warming and its effects.

The report released today by the Government Accountability Office, requested by Representative Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, says that officials are facing competing priorities, don't have localized information on the impact of climate change, and unsure of local, state, and federal roles. (Click here to read the report.)

“A robust answer to the threat of climate change includes preventing the worst impacts and preparing for the reality that global warming impacts are already occurring,” Markey said in a statement. “If we are going to avoid the worst effects of global warming, we must pass comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation. However, we also must prepare for the effects of global warming that will realistically occur.”

Markey, as chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, is holding a hearing on the issue today.

The sweeping climate change bill -- sponsored by Markey and Representative Henry Waxman of California and that was approved by the House in June -- would create programs and services to encourage adaptation efforts and provide nearly $25 billion.

By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- Senator John F. Kerry, fresh from a diplomatic coup in Afghanistan, said this afternoon that President Obama should wait until after the Afghanistan presidential run-off before deciding whether to send more US troops.

After briefing Obama in a private 45-minute one-on-one meeting, Kerry said it wouldn't be "common sense" to determine the best US strategy without knowing how the election goes and who will be in charge of the country.

"You need to know what kind of government is coming out of it," Kerry told reporters at the White House. "I would absolutely counsel [Obama] to wait until after the run-off."

While Kerry said he did not discuss the issue with Obama, "I'd be surprised if he wasn't on the same wavelength..."

The president, however, told NBC News today that it's possible that he will announce before the Nov. 7 run-off his decision on a request by the top US commander for as many as 40,000 additional troops.

"I think it is entirely possibly that we have a strategy formulated before a runoff is determined. We may not announce it," Obama said in the NBC interview.

"I think we're still in-- finding out how this whole process in Afghanistan is gonna unfold. I thought that the steps that President Karzai took yesterday, agreeing to the certification of a second round was positive. What we've said is that it is important to make sure that we understand the landscape and the partner that we're gonna be dealing with," the president added.

"Because our strategy in Afghanistan is not just dependent on military forces. It's also dependent on how well we're doing with our civilian development efforts, how well we're doing in stemming corruption. So this is part of a comprehensive strategy; it always has been. And our basic attitude is that we are going to take the time to get this right.  We're not gonna drag it out, because there is a sense that the sooner we get a sound approach in place and personnel in place, the better off we're gonna be. But we also want to make sure that we don't put resources ahead of strategy."

Kerry said since it would take months to actually get additional forces in place, if that is what Obama decides, a two-week delay would not interfere. "Two weeks is a very short span of time, folks, to determine whether you have a government to work with during a war."

Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who supports a troop increase, said there's no need to wait until after the run-off.

“We’re there not to advocate or protect any particular leadership of Afghanistan; we’re there really to secure the people of Afghanistan and to help them determine their own future," Lieberman said on Fox News Channel. “If the president makes this decision to increase troops before Election Day it’s going to give more Afghans the confidence to come out and vote.”

Kerry, who is being lauded for his role in persuading Afghan President Hamid Karzai to accept a run-off election in hopes of removing the taint of balloting fraud in the first go-round, also dismissed suggestions that he had eclipsed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was given the job Kerry wanted.

"That's an unfair characterization," Kerry said, noting that he was in frequent touch with Clinton during the talks with Karzai.

Earlier today, the top Senate Democrat heaped praise on Kerry. Though it remains unclear whether the run-off can happen on schedule or without more shenanigans, Karzai's decision, announced Tuesday with Kerry at his side, averted an immediate crisis.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on the Senate floor this morning that Kerry's diplomatic success is the latest example of his "service to our country" -- as a decorated Vietnam War veteran, 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, and now as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

"What he's doing in Afghanistan is something that is vitally important to not only our country, but to the world," Reid gushed.

The political pendulum has swung slightly away from President Obama on health care, though a majority of Americans still want an overhaul, and still want a public insurance option, a new poll says.

According to the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released this afternoon, 49 percent favor and 49 percent oppose the health overhaul. That's down from 51 percent support last month, though better than the 48 percent in late August after protestors at town halls railed against the president's plan.

The rest of the poll had better news for Obama.

A majority -- 53 percent -- said it would be better for the country to pass a bill along the lines proposed by the president instead of leaving the current health system in place.

The poll also found that 61 percent support a public option -- a government-run plan to compete with private insurers -- up from 55 percent in August. And 40 percent said they would support the overhaul bill only if it included the public option.

And respondents trust Obama far more than Republicans -- mocked by Democrats as the "party of no" -- on health care; 50 percent said they trust Obama more to deal with major health care changes, while 34 percent picked congressional Republicans.

The poll, conducted Friday through Sunday, has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Pro-Obama groups said this morning they ended up at 315,023 calls to Congress on Tuesday pushing the health care overhaul, tripling the original goal of 100,000.

The massive effort was put together by Organizing for America, the president's grassroots group from the campaign. (Click here for updates.)

"As you know, we set a big goal: 100,000 calls to Congress placed or committed to in a single day by OFA supporters and allied organizations. By 2:30 p.m., you had crushed it. So, we gulped and said let's go for 200,000, not knowing what would happen. But the calls just kept pouring in -- keeping phones ringing off the hook in congressional offices in D.C. and your representatives' district offices around the country," the group's national director, Mitch Stewart, told supporters this morning.

"Then, OFA supporters gathered in over 1,000 living rooms and community centers from Macon, Georgia to Missoula, Montana. You called hundreds of thousands of key voters in your community and got them to agree to call Congress and speak out for reform, too. President Obama joined in at a call party in New York -- and he had some amazing words of support for the folks like you who make this movement possible."

Obama, himself, addressed thousands of supporters who are making calls via live webcast Tuesday night from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, where 2,500 people will be making similar calls in support of reform.

"You know why this is so important," he told them. "You know premiums have doubled over the past decade."

President Obama praised Afghan President Hamid Karzai this morning for agreeing to a runoff election -- balloting that the US hopes gives legitimacy to the regime in Kabul and is expected to free Obama to decide whether to send more US troops.

"I welcome President Karzai’s statement today accepting the Independent Electoral Commission’s certification of the August 20 election results, and agreeing to participate in a second round of the election. This is an important step forward in ensuring a credible process for the Afghan people which results in a government that reflects their will," Obama said in a statement issued through the White House.

"While this election could have remained unresolved to the detriment of the country, President Karzai’s constructive actions established an important precedent for Afghanistan’s new democracy. The Afghan Constitution and laws are strengthened by President Karzai’s decision, which is in the best interests of the Afghan people," Obama added. (His full statement is below.)

Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, helped persuade Karzai to accept an independent commission's findings that there was enough voter fraud in the first round of balloting to push him below a majority and force a runoff, expected on Nov. 7.

Kerry stood next to Karzai today when he announced he would accept the runoff, and said that Karzai's move had transformed a crisis into a "moment of great opportunity."

(Kerry's full prepared remarks are also below.)

The Republican National Committee announced today that it is getting donations from a record number of small donors.

The RNC said that it raised $8.74 million in the month of September and had $18.9 million cash on hand at month's end with no debt. It averaged 2,400 new donors a day during the month, an off-year record and an increase of about 2,000 new donors per day since February, the RNC said.

The average donor contribution in September was $36, with a year to date average donation of about $41.

The RNC also unveiled its latest web video, slamming top Senate Democrat Harry Reid for negotiating the details of the health care overhaul in private.

The video has Reid promising transparency, saying, "No longer can we allow special interests and lawmakers to conspire behind closed doors." It also shows Obama making similar pledges.

But now, the video points out, Reid is working closely and privately with the White House to meld the version the Senate Finance Committee approved last week, and a more liberal version that the Senate health committee passed earlier.

They're talking in secret because they don't want the public to realize the health care bill would raise costs and mean a far greater government role, the announcer says.

"It may be Halloween, but the Democrats' intentions cannot be disguised," the announcer concludes.

The chief spokeswoman for the nation's private insurance companies is defending a report that many saw as the industry trying to kill the health care overhaul.

America's Health Insurance Plans issued the report just before the Senate Finance Committee voted last week, asserting that the bill would dramatically raise premiums. The report has been widely pilloried for not accounting for cost-saving measures in the bill. (To reach the entire bill, click here.)

In an opinion article in today's Washington Post, Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of AHIP, writes, "Let me be clear and direct: Health plans continue to strongly support reform. In fact, last year we proposed new insurance market rules and consumer protections to achieve universal coverage, remove restrictions on preexisting conditions and end the practice of basing premiums on health status or gender. We firmly believe that all the cost concerns the report raised can be resolved."

She adds, "The report's central finding has long been noncontroversial in health policy and economic circles: namely, that implementing reforms of the insurance market without a strong requirement that everyone participate will cause adverse selection and significantly increase costs for individuals and small businesses. This finding echoes the message President Obama delivered in his address to Congress last month."

But liberal groups supporting the health bills are continuing their assault on the insurance industry.

Americans United for Change released its latest ad today featuring an insurance horror story -- this one about a woman who purportedly was told she would have to be sterilized to keep coverage.

"The new spot is our latest salvo against the shameful practices of the health insurance industry, which finally dropped the ‘we want reform, too’ façade last week with AHIP’s release of that amazingly disingenuous “report” asserting of all things that reform would mean 'higher premiums' – laughable stuff coming from the folks that raised premiums three to four times faster than wages the last ten years," Americans United for Change said.

A new poll finds support rebounding for a public option and some discomfort with President Obama among his liberal allies.

The Washington Post/ABC News survey released this afternoon found that 57 percent of Americans favor a public insurance option, while 40 percent are opposed. But opinion continues to be split -- 45 percent for, 48 percent against -- for the overall health overhaul bills being debated in Congress.

Obama's aides repeated over the weekend that while the president prefers a bill that includes the public option -- a government-run plan to offer affordable coverage and to compete with private insurers -- he isn't wedded to it.

While 7 in 10 Democrats back the plan being put together, Obama's strong approval ratings on health care from fellow Democrats have dropped 15 percentage points since mid-September.

More broadly, while 57 percent approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president, "strong approval" among liberal Democrats is down 16 percentage points over the past month.

New Senator Paul G. Kirk Jr. of Massachusetts plans to join several colleagues Tuesday in pushing for passage of a bill to extend unemployment benefits.

"Unemployment insurance benefits began exhausting for jobless workers at the end of September, and nearly 2 million Americans will lose these benefits by the end of this year. Legislation to extend unemployment insurance for these workers has been held up in the Senate for nearly 2 weeks, despite repeated attempts by the Democratic leadership to pass this critical legislation," Kirk's office said.

Last month, the Massachusetts jobless rate rose to 9.3 percent, exceeding the peak during the early 1990s recession.

"In Massachusetts alone, more than 15,000 of our constituents have exhausted their UI benefits since the end of August. Another 4,000 are expected to run out of benefits before Thanksgiving, and as many as 40,000 individuals will have exhausted their benefits by the end of the year," Kirk and Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts wrote earlier this month to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

"Americans have already suffered severe repercussions from the current deep recession, and they deserve better than to be stranded without any assistance. It is essential that an extension be passed without delay."

Kirk will be joined by Senators Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, as well as Charles Schumer, Debbie Stabenow, Sherrod Brown, Bob Casey, Amy Klobuchar, and Al Franken.

But in this case, it's not Republican opposition that is gumming up the works. Instead, a bill that the House passed last month to give another 13 weeks of unemployment benefits to people from states where the jobless rate is at least 8.5 percent has bogged down because of resistance from lawmakers representing 23 states that have lower unemployment rates and would be left out.

Shaheen has been pushing for a bill that would extend unemployment benefits nationwide.

Liberals are ramping up the pressure on top Senate Democrat Harry Reid, one of the key players in the negotiations over the health care overhaul.

Trying to craft a plan that can draw at least 60 votes in the Senate, Reid, the White House, and other moderate and conservative Democrats are waffling on whether a "public option" -- a government-run plan to offer affordable coverage and compete with private insurers -- should be in the final bill. Worried liberals say that health reform without it would be less than half a loaf.

Today, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee unveiled a TV ad in Nevada, where Reid face re-election next year, and sent an email to 225,000 activists nationwide seeking to raise at least $100,000 online to air the spot 200 times.

It features Nevada nurse Lee Slaughter, who says she has spent 20 years providing critical care -- and seeing patients cut off because of insurance. "Now, it's happening to me," she says, saying that she broke both her hips and that her insurer isn't providing all the care she needs. broke both hips insurers

Slaughter says she's a swing voter for supported Reid and President Obama, and says that in 2010, she will vote on only one issue.

"I'm watching to see if Harry Reid is strong and effective enough as a leader to pass a public health insurance option into law," she says.

A health care bill within sight, President Obama aggressively takes on his critics who he says are trying to stop the overhaul by misleading and scaring Americans with dire warnings of higher premiums and other damage.

In his weekly radio-Internet address, Obama targets insurance companies, one-time allies who have gone on the attack, blasting a bill approved by the Senate Finance Committee this week.

"In fact, the insurance industry is rolling out the big guns and breaking open their massive war chest -- to marshal their forces for one last fight to save the status quo," Obama says. "They’re filling the airwaves with deceptive and dishonest ads. They’re flooding Capitol Hill with lobbyists and campaign contributions. And they’re funding studies designed to mislead the American people."

"It’s smoke and mirrors. It’s bogus. And it’s all too familiar," the president adds. "Every time we get close to passing reform, the insurance companies produce these phony studies as a prescription and say, “Take one of these, and call us in a decade.” Well, not this time. The fact is, the insurance industry is making this last-ditch effort to stop reform even as costs continue to rise and our health care dollars continue to be poured into their profits, bonuses, and administrative costs that do nothing to make us healthy – that often actually go toward figuring out how to avoid covering people. And they’re earning these profits and bonuses while enjoying a privileged exception from our anti-trust laws, a matter that Congress is rightfully reviewing."

Asserting that Americans voted for change when they made him their president, Obama urges Congress "to stand against the power plays and political ploys – and to stand up on behalf the American people who sent us to Washington to do their business."

The full address is below and can be viewed here.

The Democratic National Committee said today it is going after the insurance industry in the latest of its “Call ‘Em Out” series targeting those who it says is trying to mislead the public on the health care overhaul.

Democrats are criticizing an industry-funded study that said insurance premiums would rise under the bill approved Tuesday by the Senate Finance Committee and assailing an insurance industry ad campaign warning seniors of cuts in Medicare.

"After fighting health reform with lies, deceit, and multi-million dollar ad campaigns, the health insurance lobby -- America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) -- just released a report on the 'effects of health reform.' Surprise! It's full of flawed claims that reform would increase costs," the DNC told supporters in a email accompanying a video.

"We're not going to take it sitting down. So this week, we're calling out the health insurance lobby. The lobby has invested millions trying to convince Congress to oppose reform. So this week, we're not simply debunking lies: The best way to Call 'em Out is to cut through the spin and tell our representatives to say 'no' to deceitful lobbyists and 'yes' to reform. "

President Obama is activating his grassroots army again, trying to get 100,000 of them to call Congress on a single day to push for health care.

Organizing for America's national director, Mitch Stewart, announced today that Obama will join thousands of "Time to Deliver" events on Oct. 20 via a live webcast

"These call parties couldn't come at a more important time -- the final Senate committee just passed their version of the plan, so the debate is about to move to the full Congress for the first time. And the insurance industry lobby is throwing everything they've got at us to distort the issues and derail progress. Our voices must be heard," Stewart said in an email to supporters.

Organizing for America, housed within the Democratic National Committee, is the post-election iteration of Obama's vaunted campaign organization.

President Obama today signed a bill, championed by Senator John F. Kerry, that increases US aid to crucial, but volatile ally Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year.

"This law is the tangible manifestation of broad support for Pakistan in the U.S., as evidenced by its bipartisan, bicameral, unanimous passage in Congress," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

"As President Obama said on March 27, the United States wants to engage Pakistan on the basis of a strategic partnership, 'grounded in support for Pakistan's democratic institutions and the Pakistani people.' This Act formalizes that partnership, based on a shared commitment to improving the living conditions of the people of Pakistan through sustainable economic development, strengthening democracy and the rule of law, and combating the extremism that threatens Pakistan and the United States."

On Wednesday, Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, held a joint news conference with Pakistan's foreign minister to clarify that the conditions attached to the aid aren't meant to delve into the country's internal affairs.

The nonpartisan, normally genteel League of Women Voters is taking the unusual step of airing a TV ad taking a tough issue position -- urging Americans to support the Democratic-supported health care overhaul.

The League said it is airing the 30-second spot in the home states of key senators, including Maine, where Olympia Snowe was the only Republican on the Finance Committee to support the bill on Tuesday and where fellow Republican Susan Collins suggested she might go along.

“Health care reform is a critically important issue for Americans – an issue that requires action from all of us,” League President Mary G. Wilson said in a statement. “After watching opponents of health care reform repeatedly attempt to scare people with lies and disorderly conduct, the League decided that we must speak up.”

“This is an unusual step for us. But as a nonpartisan membership organization that believes in reasoned and civil debate we felt compelled to take a stand against the lies and the distortions,” Wilson added.

“Health care is too important to let the nay-sayers and the special interests stand in the way of real reform. We have an obligation to get the facts straight.”

Senator John F. Kerry did a little diplomatic two-step today to reassure Pakistan that a foreign aid bill he championed does not impinge on the precarious nation's independence.

As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry held a joint press conference with House Foreign Relations Chairman Howard L. Berman and Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi to release a "joint explanatory statement."

"It affirms that the primary intention of the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act is to demonstrate the American people’s long-term commitment to the people of Pakistan. It will be placed in the Congressional Record today along with the final version of the legislation that the President will be signing," Kerry said.

“It affirms that the United States values its friendship with the Pakistani people and honors the great sacrifices made by Pakistani security forces in the fight against extremism. And it also makes absolutely clear – and I want to emphasize this point – that the legislation does not seek in any way to compromise Pakistan’s sovereignty, impinge on Pakistan’s national security interests, or micromanage any aspect of Pakistani military or civilian operations.

Both the Senate and House have passed the bill, which would provide Pakistan with $1.5 billion a year over the next five years to spend on democratic, economic and social development programs. The bill awaits President Obama's signature.

Pakistan's military has objected to provisions in the bill that links money for counterterrorism assistance to a crackdown on militants and other conditions.

The full explanatory statement is below:

Two major players in the health care debate -- Big Insurance and Big Labor -- are both registering their objections to the bill passed by the Senate Finance Committee.

But they're coming at it from far different vantage points.

America's Health Insurance Plans, which represents the big insurers, is airing a TV ad that criticizes the bill's provision that would trim Medicare Advantage, the premium coverage that seniors get through private insurers.

"Most people agree we need to reform health care but is it right to ask 10 million seniors on Medicare Advantage for more than their fair share," the announcer says.

The Democratic bills would cut Medicare Advantage by more than $120 billion over 10 years, meaning that 10 million seniors -- including 175,000 in Massachusetts -- could have their health plans shrink or be replaced with traditional coverage.

On the other hand, a dozen of the largest labor unions are taking out full-page ads in Washington and national newspapers complaining that the Finance bill does not include a public option -- a government-run plan to compete with private plans -- and does call for penalties on people who do not obtain coverage.

The ad, entitled "Our Bottom Line for Health Care Reform," says that "Unless the bill that goes to the floor of the U.S. Senate makes substantial progress to address the concerns of working men and women, we will oppose it."

The White House and Democrats were thrilled that Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine broke ranks with Republicans to give a bipartisan patina to the Senate Finance Committee's approval of a health care overhaul.

But Republicans predictably are not as impressed.

“One Republican vote out of 40 in the Senate does not bipartisan make,” GOP chairman Michael Steele said today on Fox News Channel.

“You’ve got a long way to go Mr. President before you get to bipartisanship in terms of really putting together a bill that makes sense,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that there could be a second Republican vote for the health care bill -- Snowe's fellow Mainer, Susan Collins.

Collins said that the bill approved on a 14-9 vote Tuesday by the Finance Committee needs substantial improvements. "My hope is we that can fix the flaws in the bill and come together with a truly bipartisan bill that could garner widespread support," Collins said in the AP interview. "I think this bill is far superior to the ones passed by the Senate [health]) committee and the three House committees, but it needs substantial additional work."

Steele said the health package would have to be far different to draw more Republican support. “If it doesn’t have triggers for a government plan, if it doesn’t have little hidden mechanisms and features that Congress is famous for doing that ultimately gets us on a road to government controlled health care, I think you will see a lot of Republican support,” he said on Fox.

Back from a failed bid to bring back the 2016 Summer Olympics to Chicago, President Obama returns today to the issue he initially said would keep him too busy to go to Copenhagen to make the sales pitch in person.

In his weekly radio-Internet address, Obama asserts that his health care overhaul would help America's small businesses, which he says a crucial job engine but are being "overwhelmed by rising health care costs."

Obama, who also plans a health care event on Monday, bringing doctors from across the country to the White House, says health costs are stopping budding entrepreneurs from going out on their own because they're afraid to lose their health coverage and preventing firms from growing and hiring more workers.

The health care legislation before Congress will allow small businesses to buy health insurance through a new exchange where they can compare policies and will offer tax credits to help them pay for it, the president says

"These small businesses are the mom and pop stores and restaurants, beauty shops and construction companies that support families and sustain communities. They’re the small startups with big ideas, hoping to be the next Google, or Apple, or HP. Altogether, they create roughly half of all new jobs." he says.

"So we know that reforming our health insurance system will be a critical step in rebuilding our economy so that our entrepreneurs can pursue the American Dream again, and our small businesses can grow and expand and create new jobs again."

The full address is below and can be viewed here.

A liberal-labor coalition is trying to keep up its support for a "public option" in the health care overhaul -- and going after House Republican leader John Boehner in the bargain.

Americans United for Change unveiled a new TV ad airing on cable TV in Boehner's district in Ohio that attacks what they call his "laughable claim" that “I’m still trying to find the first American to talk to who is in favor of the public option” as part of health insurance reform.

It says that Boehner is out of touch with his constituents, noting a recent Quinnipiac University poll showing that 57 percent of Ohio voters support the idea of a government-run option as part of the health care overhaul.

“Maybe Congressman Boehner should spend a little less time schmoozing with lobbyists on golf courses in Florida and a lot more time talking to his constituents back home about the kind of health insurance reform they are demanding," Tom McMahon, acting executive director of Americans United for Change, said in a statement.

President Obama hailed the Senate Finance Committee's endorsement early this morning of a health care overhaul that follows most of his principles -- a major step in his push for reform.

“Thanks to the unyielding commitment of Senator Baucus and members of the Senate Finance Committee, we have reached another milestone in our effort to pass health insurance reform," the president said in a statement. "Over the past two weeks, the Committee has engaged in long hours of thoughtful deliberation and vigorous debate. They have considered hundreds of amendments, and incorporated many of the best ideas from both parties. And they have shown a spirit of civility, a seriousness of purpose, and a willingness to compromise that embodies our democratic process at its very best.

“The Finance Committee’s work is the culmination of tireless efforts over the better part of this year by the five committees and many members of Congress involved in health reform -- holding numerous hearings and bi-partisan meetings; reaching out to stakeholders across the spectrum; and striving to find common ground. As a result of this work, we are now closer than ever before to finally passing reform that will offer security to those who have coverage and affordable insurance to those who don’t. We have a long way to go, but I am confident that as we move forward, we will continue to engage with each other as productively as the members of the Finance Committee, and will get reform passed this year,” Obama added.

The Finance Committee put off a final vote until next week so congressional budget officials can certify the $900 billion bill does not add to federal deficits. Then, Senate Democrats and the White House will have to try to meld the bill with one passed earlier by the Senate health committee.

WASHINGTON -- Senator John F. Kerry made clear today that, while he is weighing the wisdom of adding additional troops to Afghanistan, he does not believe that withdrawal is an option.

"I don't see that as on the table," he said. "I don't think that there is anyone up here who is talking about that."

Kerry spoke at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing -- the third in a series he has called on Afghanistan -- that probed what the impact of additional troops would be on stability in Pakistan, a fragile, nuclear-armed neighbor.

Maleeha Lodhi, former Pakistani ambassador to the United States, said an increase in US combat troops in Afghanistan could lead to an increase in suicide attacks, militant groups, and support for extremism in Pakistan.

"A further military escalation in Afghanistan is unlikely to succeed," she said.

Lodhi, Milt Bearden, who served as the CIA station chief in Pakistan during the 1980s, and Steve Coll of the New America Foundation, said the Obama administration should put the emphasis on brokering a political solution to the fighting.

"I think we are going to have to start understanding who they are and deal with them," Bearden said. "There will always be enough Pashtuns to meet our troops in the field."

Kerry's opening statement is below.

As the Globe reported Wednesday, Kerry is trying to carve out a significant role on US policy in Afghanistan as Obama comes up with a new strategy and decides whether to approve a military request for more reinforcements.

Kerry has also weighed in on Pakistan. Thursday, the House gave final approval to a bill that he championed in the Senate that would give Pakistan $1.5 billion in aid a year over the next five years focused on democratic, economic, and social development programs. Obama is expected to sign the bill into law.

Kerry issued a statement congratulating the House on its vote. “The final version of the bill is the product of several months of intense consultation and compromise between the Chambers, and I am delighted that we were able to forge this landmark piece of legislation on a bipartisan, bicameral basis," he said. "This bill reaffirms the depth of America’s long-term commitment to the people and Government of Pakistan. By tripling past years’ level of non-military aid to $1.5 billion a year for fiscal years 2010 to 2014, we demonstrate our steadfast support for Pakistani efforts to combat violent extremism, defeat al-Qaeda and solidify democratic government."

As the US and its allies begin high-stakes talks today with Iran to demand an end to its nuclear weapons program, Senator John F. Kerry put in his two cents on what he calls "the most important American diplomatic engagement with Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution."

In Geneva, officials from the US and five other world powers are meeting with representatives of Iran, a week after President Obama called out Iran at the G-20 economic summit, disclosing intelligence that it had been secretly building a new uranium enrichment plant.

In an op-ed piece published in today's Financial Times, Kerry says that the Western powers enter the talks from a position of strength. "Consider the view from Tehran," he writes. "It is on the defensive – caught red-handed in another nuclear deception. In contrast to the rancorous run-up to the war in Iraq, America and Europe are increasingly reading from the same script and Russia is signalling an openness to further sanctions."

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee says that for the diplomatic overtures to work, " two things are vital. First, if Iran is not willing to negotiate in good faith, it must understand the consequences. Pressure is not an alternative to engagement; the two strategies complement each other."

"Second," Kerry adds, "we must be willing to take yes for an answer. An important lesson of Iraq is that intrusive inspections can work. Our ability to detect and monitor the Qom enrichment facility for years before publicly revealing it is encouraging."

The Massachusetts Democrat acknowledges that diplomacy could very well fail.

"And yet, it remains vital to seek a diplomatic solution to the stand-off," he concludes. "The international community is finally in a position to force Iran to choose either pariah status or a more constructive relationship with America and the world. Certainly the real possibility of either military conflict or a nuclear-armed Iran compels us to give diplomacy a chance."

Representative Eric Cantor, the second-ranking Republican in the House, is less optimistic that the negotiations will be fruitful.

"The unfortunate reality for President Obama is that there is absolutely no evidence that Iran is willing to reach any agreement acceptable on U.S. terms – much less use negotiations for any purpose other than to buy more time for its illicit nuclear enrichment activities," Cantor writes in an op-ed published today in Politico.

The congressman says that Obama should not delay in winning international support for "crippling sanctions" to force Iran to comply.

"The key point is that we have been down this road before – and it has reached a dead end. This time around we simply don’t have the luxury of time," Cantor says, adding that Obama "must treat Iran’s government as the oppressive and unyielding engine of terror that it is, not as the trustworthy and compromising rational actor we all wish it could be. Should he expeditiously follow through on the heavy sanctions Iran deserves, the president will have the support of a clear majority of Congress."

Mr. President, meet General McChrystal. General, meet your commander-in-chief.

President Obama huddled privately with his entire national security team for three hours this afternoon -- and spoke directly for only the second time with the top US commander in Afghanistan. And even this time, Stanley McChrystal wasn't be there in person, but via a secure videoconference link.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs tonight issued this report of the private session:

"In today’s meeting, the President engaged his national security team in a candid assessment of the progress that has been made and the challenges we still face in Afghanistan and Pakistan since the President's strategy was announced in March. As a part of this review, the President will consult with his national security team, including his military commanders, civilian leadership, and Ambassadors in the region. He will also consult closely with our Allies and with the United States Congress.

"As the U.S. aggressively confronts al Qaeda and its leadership around the world, the President has set a clear goal in Afghanistan: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda and their extremist allies. When it come to decisions as important as keeping this country safe and putting our troops into harm’s way, the President has made it clear that he will rigorously assess our progress. That is why he held this meeting today and will take the next several weeks to review our strategy.

"This was the second of five scheduled intensive sessions with National Security Council as well as field commanders and regional ambassadors. The President has also directed his inter-agency team to provide regular consultation sessions with Congress, during this period, starting with Gen. Jones’ briefing of all US senators this evening."

Gibbs said Obama will meet again with his national security team to discuss Afghanistan and Pakistan on Oct. 7.

The Associated Press reports that Obama made no decisions during the meeting.

The AP quotes a senior administration official saying that the president pushed for specifics and details, focusing on what the goals of the US strategy should be. The official, who was involved in the session, said no decisions about increased troop levels were discussed.

The other top officials who were supposed to be in attendance, either in person or via video hookup: Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, special envoy Richard Holbrooke, Joint Chiefs chairman Michael Mullen, Central Command General David Petraeus, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, CIA Director Leon Panetta, National Security Adviser James Jones,
US ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, and US ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson.

It was an unusual gathering in the White House situation room -- the top-secret retreat seen only in movies and TV, where the president is responding to one world crisis or another.

Obama is trying to find the right US strategy after eight years of war in Afghanistan -- even as he is buffeted from the left and the right over a pending request from McChrystal for thousands more US troops, on top of the 21,000 the president has already dispatched.

Senator John F. Kerry, a fellow Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is trying to prevail on Obama to take as long as it takes for the review of the Afghanistan mission.

"I am arguing that the president has the time and we have the time," Kerry told the Globe Tuesday.

But Senator John McCain of Arizona, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, urged Obama today to quickly approve the request for additional troops.

"Time is not on our side so we need a decision pretty quickly," McCain, who is likening the request to the troop surge that turned around the situation in Iraq, said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "I think history is pretty clear that when the Taliban took over, it became a base for attacks on the United States and our allies."

Can't they all just get along, or at least turn down the volume and vitriol?

Representative Joe Wilson, a South Carolina Republican, started the string of heated rhetoric by shouting "You lie!" at President Obama during his health care speech to Congress earlier this month. He apologized to Obama, but the House passed a resolution of disapproval after he refused to repeat the mea culpa on the House floor.

Another Republican followed up over the weekend by calling Obama an "enemy of humanity." Representative Trent Franks of Arizona offered only a tepid apology on Tuesday, saying that he should have made clear that he was talking about Obama's policies on abortion.

And now comes a Democrat who is refusing today to apologize for a harsh attack on Republicans, the Associated Press reports. On the House floor Tuesday night, Representative Alan Grayson of Florida criticized Republican health care proposals by saying, "If you get sick, America, the Republican health care plan is this: Die quickly. That's right. The Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick."

That accusation completely turns around debunked Republican claims that the Democratic bills would create "death panels" of bureaucrats who would decide which elderly patients would receive care -- and who wouldn't.

Republicans say that if Grayson doesn't apologize, he should be reprimanded just like Wilson.

Representative Tom Price of Georgia, who heads the conservative Republican Study Committee, drafted a "resolution of disapproval" that mirrors the one Democrats approved against Wilson, saying Grayson's conduct was "a breach of decorum and degraded the integrity and proceedings of the House," the AP says.

UPDATE: Responding to the Republican threats of a reprimand, Grayson stood firmly behind his comments today.

"People like elected officials with guts who say what they mean," Grayson told reporters. "I stand by what I said."

Senators John F. Kerry and Barbara Boxer rallied in front of the US Capitol today to launch their version of climate change legislation.

Kerry, as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, has taken on global warming as a national security issue, while Boxer is chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

“This is a security bill that puts Americans back in charge of our energy future and makes it clear that we will combat global climate change with American ingenuity. It is our country’s defense against the harms of pollution and the security risks of global climate change,” Kerry said in a statement. “Our health, our security, our economy, our environment, all demand we reinvent the way America uses energy. Our addiction to foreign oil hurts our economy, helps our enemies and risks our security. By taking decisive action, we can and will stop climate change from becoming a ‘threat multiplier’ that makes an already dangerous world staggeringly more so.”

Boxer said in her statement, “We know clean energy is the ticket to strong, stable economic growth -- it's right here in front of us, in the ingenuity of our workers and the vision of our entrepreneurs. We must seize this opportunity, or others will move ahead. This is our time. Global warming is our challenge. Economic recovery is our challenge. American leadership is our challenge. Let's step up right now. Let's not quit until we have fulfilled our responsibility to our children and our grandchildren."

Click here for a summary of the bill, and here for a more detailed look.

President Obama praised the bill in a statement this afternoon. “I applaud Chairmen Kerry and Boxer for their leadership on comprehensive energy reform. With the draft legislation they are announcing today, we are one step closer to putting America in control of our energy future and making America more energy independent. My Administration is deeply committed to passing a bill that creates new American jobs and the clean energy incentives that foster innovation. I commend Senators Boxer and Kerry for their work and look forward to signing comprehensive energy legislation that addresses this urgent challenge.”

Their bill, according to drafts circulating Tuesday, calls for an even more ambitious goal than the version the House passed in June -- a 20 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2020, compared to 17 percent in the House version.

Like the House bill, it envisions a cap-and-trade system that would limit carbon emissions and allow companies to trade pollution credits. Republicans say that would raise costs for consumers and kill jobs.

Representative Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, a main sponsor of the House-passed bill, highlighted the common ground with the Senate version.

“With the release of this Senate draft bill, there is now Congress-wide movement to pass a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill. Given the Senate draft’s structural similarity to the House-passed Waxman-Markey bill, a legislative solution that can pass both chambers of Congress is finally within sight," Markey said in a statement.

“Just as in Waxman-Markey, the Senate draft bill includes many provisions to help America make the transition away from foreign oil and to a clean energy future, including robust consumer protection and worker training measures. As the bill moves through the Senate process, I will continue to work with Senators Kerry and Boxer, and any other Senators, to ensure that the final legislation we send to President Obama creates a future with more clean energy and less global warming pollution.”

This afternoon, Kerry responded to what he described as inaccurate attacks on the bill -- such as that it includes tax increases and would raise costs for consumers and businesses alike.

“The ink wasn’t even dry on the The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act before the same tired attacks and bold face distortions were launched by those committed to inaction. We predicted long ago that those on the other side would adopt the misleading jargon of oil companies, lobbyists, and special interests, which maximize their profits at the expense of progress," he said in a statement. "Let’s be clear: The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act will put America back in control of our energy future. It invests in coal, natural gas, nuclear, and renewable energy companies that make America great, while vigorously protecting the American consumer. It can finally put us on a path to energy independence, in spite of the misleading campaign that would keep us hostage to foreign and unreliable governments.”

The Kerry-Boxer bill, titled The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, will be the subject of intense lobbying by industry and other groups. So to formally introduce it. the two Democrats are calling on Democrats on the environment committee and other senators, as well as business, faith, national security, energy, and environmental leaders, and local and state officials to offer their support.

Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, praised the bill, saying in a statement that "it's time for America to again take charge and make sure that we have more jobs, less pollution and greater security.”

David Foster, executive director of the Blue Green Alliance, also applauded the bill. "To truly achieve our goals of a cleaner environment and a prosperous and fair clean energy economy, we must pass comprehensive legislation that protects workers and ignites our clean energy economy," he said in a statement. "The Copenhagen negotiations are just around the corner, and it is critical that the U.S. Senate move on this legislation to send a strong message to the world.”

The Alliance for American Manufacturing said today that industries supporting over four million jobs could be at risk unless any climate change bill protects the competitiveness of energy-intensive, trade-sensitive manufacturers. It cited a new report from the Economic Policy Institute that calls for provisions including rebates for compliance costs and a "border adjustment fee" on the carbon content of goods from countries that fail to regulate greenhouse gases.

Labor leaders are taking more of a wait-and-see attitude. Leo W. Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers said “a long, tough process" lies ahead.

“To get this right, it is critical that this bill not only tackle the challenges we face in addressing climate change, but also come to the aid of workers across the U.S. by creating and maintaining jobs that strengthen America’s manufacturing base, and prevent the leakage of jobs to nations who fail to take action on climate change," he said in a statement.

President Obama has had doctors and nurses by his side as he pitches his health care plans.

Now, his political group wants to put the medical professionals in new TV ads to rebuild public support for an overhaul of the health care system.

"The cavalry is here -- and they're in white coats and scrubs: More than a half a million doctors and millions of nurses are joining forces to help pass real health reform. Americans listen to their nurses and doctors when it comes to health reform -- and for good reason. If we can help them amplify their voices, it'll be a huge boost to our campaign for change," Mitch Stewart, national director of Organizing for America, told supporters in a fund-raising solicitation today.

Stewart said the group is trying to come up with $300,000 by Thursday for the ad, which would note that the reform effort has the backing of the American Medical Association and a dozen other physicians groups representing 500,000 doctors, plus the American Nurses Association and other organizations representing millions of nurses.

A liberal-labor group supporting President Obama and the Democrats on health care has a new web ad that uses a more humorous, tongue-in-cheek approach to make the case that Republicans don't have a plan to offer.

The video from Americans United for Change puts together clips of various Republican lawmakers to argue that the GOP plan for those without insurance is to go to emergency rooms and seek charity care; for those seeking better benefits to get a federal government job; and for those trying to cut costs by dropping maternity care.

"This has been Republican Party health care solutions," the video ends.

Democrats are keeping up their assault on Republicans for what they say is scaring seniors by warning of cuts in benefits that would come from the health care overhaul.

The new TV ad today from the Democratic National Committee cites news reports that question the truthfulness of the Republican critiques and the AARP conclusion that Republicans are using "scare tactics." The spot is clearly aimed at the elderly set, down to the key points appearing on a billboard and on a piece of paper inserted into an ancient Royal typewriter.

The ad asserts that instead of cuts, seniors will benefit from lower prescription drug costs and premium payments.

While Republican accusations that the Democratic bills could lead to rationing of care have been largely debunked, independent analysts say that the GOP does have a point when it comes to a portion of the Medicare program. Under the Democratic proposals, more than 10 million seniors enrolled in an enhanced, private version of Medicare known as Medicare Advantage could have their coverage shrink or be replaced with traditional plans.

By Joseph Williams, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- The new junior senator from Massachusetts today received his committee assignments, joining panels overseeing major issues of importance to the Bay State.

Paul Kirk was assigned to the Armed Services Committee, which supervises the military and plays a role in defense spending.

He will also be on the Homeland Security Committee, and vowed to play a key role on the health care overhaul, though he will not be on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy had chaired.

"With Massachusetts' sons and daughters courageously serving on the front lines overseas, and our first responders bravely protecting our citizens at home, I'm deeply honored to serve the people of Massachusetts on these committees," Kirk said in a statement today. "In addition to the important committee work, there is significant work to be done on health care reform on the Senate floor, and I will be a strong voice and a vote during that vital debate."

Wednesday, Kirk will participate in his first hearing of the homeland security committee, "Eight Years After 9/11: Confronting the Terrorist Threat to the Homeland," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and FBI Director Robert Mueller III will testify.

Kirk was sworn in Friday after a controversial appointment by Governor Deval Patrick. He will serve until after a Jan. 19 special election when voters will decide who will serve out the remaining three years in Kennedy's term.

As the Senate Finance Committee today voted against including in the health care overhaul a government-run public option to compete with private insurers, the back-and-forth continues over an existing government program.

After Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus complained about a mailer sent by Humana, one of the nation's largest insurers, warning seniors that they could lose important Medicare benefits under the Democratic health care bills, Health and Human Services ordered Humana and other private companies that contract with Medicare to stop sending customers information about the overhaul's potential effects on their benefits.

While Democrats deny that the bills would cut Medicare benefits, the Congressional Budget Office and independent analysts said some seniors could lose some enhanced benefits under the Medicare Advantage program .

Republican leaders responded late last week by warning HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that they will block confirmations of any agency appointees until she lifts what they call the "gag order" on insurers.

Today, the liberal-labor coalition Americans United for Change unveiled a new TV spot going after Humana and the Republicans.

The Halloween-themed ad accuses the insurance industry and its GOP allies of resorting to fear tactics.

"This year Halloween comes early for health insurance giant Humana," the announcer says. "Humana is sending letters to its senior citizen policy holders intended to frighten them into opposing health insurance reform. The letters say health insurance reform threatens their Medicare benefits. AARP says: that’s just not true."

"But we shouldn’t be surprised," the announcer says as images of Republican leaders in various costumes flit across the screen. "Whether it’s the insurance companies or their Republican allies, the case against health insurance reform always gets down to one word."

"Boo!" it says on screen.

Baucus did not include a public option in his draft plan, largely because he does not believe that a bill that includes it would pass the Senate. Liberal groups launched a new TV ad this week in his home state trying to pressure him to change his mind.

But Senator Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, is proposing a public plan modeled on Medicare, the government program for the elderly.

President Obama has said he prefers a public option, but is not firmly wedded to it, as long as there is competition for private insurers.

The latest health care poll is also the most recent to suggest that the battering the Democratic bills took during the protests and shouting that met August congressional town halls has dissipated as the focus returned to Capitol Hill.

According to the sixth tracking poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 57 percent of Americans believe that tackling health care reform is more important than ever, up from 53 percent in August. The proportion of Americans who believe their families would be better off after an overhaul is up six percentage points to 42 percent and the proportion who think that the country would be better off is up eight points to 53 percent.

Also according to the survey, most Americans support the principles at the core of the bills supported by President Obama and congressional Democrats, including a requirement that individuals obtain coverage (68 percent), a mandate that most employers offer coverage (67 percent), and an expansion of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (82 percent).

Majorities also back "having health insurance companies pay a fee based on how much business they have” and “having health insurance companies pay a tax for offering very expensive policies,” according to Kaiser.

The Kaiser poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, was conducted Sept. 11-18 -- just after Obama gave a nationally televised address to Congress to lay out what he wanted in a health care bill. He has kept up the drumbeat for reform since with rallies and repeated TV appearances.

Other polls have also shown rebounding support for reform after the drumbeat of criticism led by conservative activists and Republicans in August drove down the numbers.

Liberal groups are trying to intensify the pressure on Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus on the eve of his panel's vote whether to include a "public option" -- a government-run plan to compete with private insurers -- in its bill.

Seeking support from moderate Democrats and Republicans, Baucus did not include it in his draft. The finance committee is expected to vote Tuesday.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy for America are airing an ad in Baucus's home state of Montana and in Washington, D.C., featuring a Billings man as a real-life example of the need for a public option.

Bing Perrine says he had to have heart surgery, but didn't have insurance. While friends and strangers held bake sales and other fund-raisers, he still owes $100,000, he says in the ad.

Perrine goes on to assert that Baucus has received nearly $4 million in campaign contributions from health care interests.

"Senator Baucus, when you take millions of dollars from health and insurance interests that oppose reform, and oppose giving families like mine the choice of a public option, I have to ask: 'Whose side are you on?' the Montana farmer asks.

A new GOP web ad aims straight for the sensitive spot in the health care overhaul from President Obama and Democrats -- that the proposals would mean higher taxes.

The ad claims that the bills would mean taxes on tests, scans and X-rays; on medical supplies; and on charities and small businesses. “Hundreds of billions in new taxes, all of it passed right back to the consumer,” the announcer says over images of a laughing Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and top Senate Democrat Harry Reid, juxtaposed with worried consumers.

The GOP ad then notes that the bill calls for a penalty for those who don't obtain health insurance, though it doesn't mention that there would be subsidies to help them: “And if you think you can’t afford it, you can’t afford not to, because they’ve even proposed a tax for not having health insurance.”

Obama has insisted that the penalty does not amount to a tax increase, but many independent observers disagree and the ad shows the dictionary definition.

"Obama health care taxes,” the announcer concludes. “Wrong for health care. ”

“For months, President Obama has tried to convince the American people that his government-run health care experiment will be all gain and no pain, but they aren’t buying it," Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele said in a statement. "The fact is, his plan contains huge new taxes that will harm the economy and cost more jobs. Democrats are paying for their dangerous experiment with higher taxes on small business owners, charitable giving, and even middle-class families who can least afford it. I encourage President Obama to abandon these health care taxes and set a course for a truly bipartisan bill that embraces reforms Americans actually want and need.”

Democrats, however, argue that the Senate Finance bill does not include any mandate on employers and that both businesses and individuals would end up eventually benefiting from lower health care costs.

"Apparently undeterred by the facts, the RNC is again relying on scare-tactics to ‘kill’ health insurance reform in a new web video released today," the Democratic National Committee said in its response. "The RNC’s latest attempt to mislead voters accuses the President of being 'in denial' over 'new taxes' that the RNC claims would result from reform. The only person guilty of that charge, however, is the Republican Party’s own Chairman who just this morning on Fox News denied that this country’s 'health care system' was 'going broke.' ”

For its part, the Democratic National Committee today sent out an email bashing House Republican leader John Boehner -- the second missive in its "Call 'em out" campaign targeting Republicans for repeating "falsehoods" about the Democratic proposals.

"As the Republican leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, John Boehner could use his important position to forge honest consensus around reforms that most Americans overwhelmingly support. Sadly, Boehner is choosing to be a leading peddler of health reform lies instead," says the email to supporters, urging them to criticize Boehner on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter and to write letters to the editor.

"When Boehner repeated his claim that reform would result in a government takeover of health care, it was clear he's been too busy trying to score political points to read the overwhelming evidence -- including a post from the non-partisan FactCheck.org -- debunking this claim," the email continues. "And cruelly scaring seniors with lies about benefit cuts, even though his own party voted to gut Medicare? On his side of the aisle, that's become standard operating procedure. Then of course there's Boehner's blatant lie that reform will provide taxpayer-funded abortions, a claim rejected even by groups that oppose abortion. His lies have been thoroughly debunked, but John Boehner just won't stop -- so we're calling him out."

Boehner responded to the Democrats' attack: "There's a reason why the majority of Americans oppose the Democrats' government takeover of health care, $500 billion in Medicare cuts, tax hikes, and mountains of new debt on our kids and grandkids. It's because they are in their bill. Try as they might, Democrats have a major credibility problem. Americans don't trust them with their health care, and they shouldn't."

Senator John F. Kerry, an influential adviser to President Obama on Afghanistan, is bending his ear about the lessons of Vietnam.

The Massachusetts Democrat is asking whether a more limited counterterrorism mission in Afghanistan would be a better strategy than than sending thousands more US troops for a full-blown counterinsurgency operation.

Obama is taking another look at the US strategy as General Stanley McChrystal, the top US commander on the ground, has asked for more forces.

Kerry, who came to politics as a Vietnam War veteran turned antiwar protestor, has called several hearings of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to explore those arguments. And he makes them again in an op-ed published in today's Wall Street Journal.

"We in Congress have our own assignment: to test all of the underlying assumptions in Afghanistan and make sure they are the right ones before embarking on a new strategy," Kerry writes. "For example, one assumption of the proposed counterinsurgency plan is that our troops and civilians will be working in partnership with a legitimate and reliable government in Afghanistan. After the deeply flawed presidential election last month, we must ask whether we can succeed if our partner is weak and viewed with deep suspicion by his own people.

"We also need to know whether a full-blown counterinsurgency, with its increased footprint and inevitably higher casualties, is a fundamental part of our plans to go after al Qaeda and avoid destabilizing Pakistan. Could a far smaller, well-honed counterterrorism strategy work as well or better?" Kerry asks.

He goes on to assert that "one of the lessons from Vietnam—applied in the first Gulf War and sadly forgotten for too long in Iraq—is that we should not commit troops to the battlefield without a clear understanding of what we expect them to accomplish, how long it will take, and how we maintain the consent of the American people. Otherwise, we risk bringing our troops home from a mission unachieved or poorly conceived."

Senate Republicans ratcheted up their assault today on the Health and Human Services Department for cracking down on an insurance company for a mailer the agency said was scaring seniors.

The GOP leaders warned HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that they will block confirmations of any agency appointees until she lifts what they call a "gag order" on insurers that is "without apparent justification or basis in law."

"America’s seniors and the health plans that serve them deserve to have their free speech rights respected," they wrote. "Their rights should not be subject to the whims of any administration, and the health plans that serve them should not be threatened with punishment if they speak out on a matter of public concern simply because the administration disagrees with their position."

(The full letter is below.)

According to the office of Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, there are at least 10 vacant posts covered by the hold: Surgeon General, Assistant Secretary for Resources, Assistant Secretary for Planning, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary for Legislation, Commissioner of the Administration for Children, Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Administrator for Substance Abuse, and General Counsel.

"They have ten vacancies of people they are trying to get appointed to the administration," McConnell said on Fox Business Network this afternoon. "None of those people will get through the Senate easily until they lift the gag order."

He also accused Democrats of skirting the truth on Medicare. "I think the Democratic majority is undeterred by the facts. The facts are that they are trying to cut Medicare. They are certainly cutting Medicare Advantage...It's astonishing."

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus had complained about the mailer sent by Humana Inc., warning seniors that they could lose important benefits under the Democratic health care bills. HHS launched an investigation and ordered Humana and other private companies that contract with Medicare to stop sending customers information about the overhaul's potential effects on their benefits.

While Democrats deny that the bills would cut Medicare benefits, the Congressional Budget Office and independent analysts said some seniors could lose some enhanced benefits. The Globe reported today that more than 10 million seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage could see their plans shrink or be replaced by traditional coverage.

Senators John F. Kerry and Richard Lugar praised their colleagues today for passing a bill that triples foreign aid to Pakistan, an ally with a nuclear arsenal that is beset by internal divisions and Islamic militants.

The bill they championed includes $1.5 billion a year over the next five years for democratic, economic, and social development assistance. It could win House passage as early as Friday, sending it to President Obama for his signature, the Associated Press reports.

Kerry broke the news of the Senate vote to Pakistan's foreign minister in a telephone call during a meeting in New York of senior diplomats pledging support for Pakistan. The room broke out into applause, reports the Globe's Farah Stockman.

President Obama also attended that meeting, where he said he wanted to "reaffirm my country’s deep commitment to the people of Pakistan."

(His full remarks are below.)

"This Act represents a collaboration between both Democrats and Republicans, in both Senate and the House, to forge a new long-term relationship between the people of America and Pakistan. The fact that President Obama was able to announce this at the United Nations sends an important message to Pakistan and the world of our strengthened commitment to this relationship," Kerry said in a statement.

“I am delighted by the action of my colleagues today—and by the unanimity displayed in the Senate vote. This landmark piece of legislation is the product of careful consultation between both Chambers, and both sides of the aisle: I salute my friends Dick Lugar and Howard Berman for their leadership. It is my hope and expectation that the House will pass this bill speedily, so that the President can sign it into law without delay.”

Lugar added, “The United States has an intense strategic interest in Pakistan and the surrounding region. The U.S. National Intelligence Estimate last year painted a bleak picture of the converging crises in Pakistan. A growing al-Qaeda sanctuary, an expanding Taliban insurgency, political brinksmanship, and a failing economy are intensifying turmoil and violence in that country. These circumstances are a threat to Pakistan, the region, and the United States.

“We should make clear to the people of Pakistan that our interests are focused on democracy, pluralism, stability, and the fight against terrorism. These are values supported by a large majority of the Pakistani people. If Pakistan is to break its debilitating cycle of instability, it will need to achieve progress on fighting corruption, delivering government services, and promoting broad based economic growth. The international community and the United States should support reforms that contribute to the strengthening of Pakistani civilian institutions.”

Vice President Joe Biden jumped all over the congressional watchdog's report on the Obama administration's economic stimulus plan, saying the report shows that the stimulus is working.

“Today’s report from the Government Accountability Office confirms what I have been hearing from people across the country: the Recovery Act is working to jump-start critical infrastructure projects, cushion the impact of record state budget deficits and provide new job opportunities for hard-hit communities," Biden, who has been put in charge of making sure the stimulus money is not wasted, said in a statement.

"As the GAO notes, Recovery Act funds are being put to work ahead of schedule, and project bids are frequently coming in under-budget -- with the millions of dollars of cost-savings often redirected to communities that need the economic boost the most. The fact that a survey of nine major Recovery Act programs across sixteen states by the government’s top watchdog, showed such significant progress is a testament to the care with which we have put taxpayer dollars to work.”

“We look ahead to receiving the first reports directly from recipients of Recovery Act funds next month on what it has meant for their business or organization. We appreciate the GAO’s recommendations for carrying out that process. I am also stressing to agencies the importance of responding to the GAO’s other recommendations for improvements in execution and oversight of this highly complex effort.”

Biden didn't mention, however, that the GAO also warned that a government's plans to measure the success of a $1.2 billion jobs program for teenagers are so lax that they "may reveal little about what the program achieved.

The Associated Press reports that many teens didn't get jobs, partly because unemployed adults sought the same low-wage, entry-level positions. Youth unemployment rates hit 18.5 percent in July, the highest rate measured among 16- to 24-year-olds in that month since 1948, the AP notes.

Republicans have also kept up a barrage of criticism of the stimulus, saying it hasn't created the promised jobs.

House Republican leaders added their voices today to those who say the focus on health care on Capitol Hill is crowding out other crucial issues, namely what to do in Afghanistan.

“With Afghanistan now becoming such a very troublesome issue, we should be making progress on health care so it doesn’t get in the way of a very, very important national security issue,” Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the No. 2 House Republican, told reporters after a private GOP meeting. “Central Asia is the Persian Gulf of the 21st century. We are foolish to be ignoring that threat right now."

"Health care in this building has made it so that it seems we can't get anything else done. We have burning issues out there is this country," Cantor added.

Obama, who is weighing a revamped strategy for Afghanistan and whether to send even more reinforcements than the 21,000 he has already dispatched, is likely to need Republican support for whatever he decides because the vast majority of Democrats are opposed to any escalation of the US mission.

"With all the attention there is on health care, the attention that needs to be paid to what is happening in Afghanistan isn’t happening,” added Representative John Boehner, the House Republican leader.

He and other key lawmakers have demanded that General Stanley McChrystal, the top US commander in Afghanistan, appear before House and Senate committees to explain his report to the White House that calls for additional troops.

"What strategy does he believe is going to be necessary in order to secure Afghanistan so that we deny the Taliban and al Qaeda a safe haven from which to train, operate and organize to come after Americans again? And so, we need General McChrystal up here as soon as possible to help members understand. I think the President ought to take his request as soon as possible,” Boehner added.

“I do believe that there is a lot of danger in the delay. First, with insufficient troops in the field, we put the troops that we do have there at greater risk. Secondly, if the President doesn’t come to a decision soon—what will happen is— we will miss the window of getting more troops into the theater as the spring thaw occurs, when the additional troops are going to be necessary. And so, I would hope that the timetable that’s been discussed by the Administration gets sped up, and gets sped up rapidly.”

As the Globe reported on Monday, some lawmakers and advocates are chafing that the sluggish pace on a health care overhaul has backed up priorities including climate change, transportation, and financial regulation.

On Fox Business Network this afternoon, Boehner said House Democrats should realize that their plan, with a government-run public option, is not going to get through.

"They're still moving in the direction of those big government plan, high taxes and big deficits. At some point it's going to become clear that this can't pass. I don't know whether that's three weeks from now, four weeks from now, six weeks from now, but at some point it's going to become clear," Boehner said.

"And then they're going to have to make a decision - do they accept the defeat or do they hit the reset button and scrap all these big government ideas and work with Republicans to make our current system work better."

Senator John F. Kerry, who has picked up some of the health care mantle from the late Edward M. Kennedy, lashed out today at Republicans complaining that the issue is being rushed.

“Only in Washington could people argue that we’ve rushed this process,” Kerry said in a statement. “This has been America’s battle for decades, and those suffering in a broken system cannot afford the political gaming of stall and delay – they simply will not survive it. We are going to get this done. I’ve been confident of that all along, and I’m confident of it now. We’re going to do it because we have to and because it is the right thing to do. And in the end, I think, we will show something about the character and the compassion of the American people.”

As the Senate Finance Committee started deliberating and amending a proposal from Chairman Max Baucus, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the panel's senior Republican, said the mid-September deadline preempted bipartisan talks. "I find it utterly and completely appalling," he said.

Baucus unveiled his bill last weeks after months of negotiations toward a possible bipartisan deal proved fruitless.

Kerry's full statement to the committee is below:

In one of his first forays into the thick of the health care debate, Vice President Joe Biden today used a new White House report on premium increases to warn that without an overhaul, families will face higher and higher costs.

"The status quo of rising premiums is simply unsustainable for families, for businesses, for state budgets, and for our national economy," Biden told state insurance commissioners.

According to the White House report, the national average annual family premium for employer-sponsored health insurance rose to $13,375 in 2009, up 5.5 percent during a recession when overall inflation fell by 0.7 percent. The report found that families’ premiums have gone up between 90 percent and 150 percent over the last decade, depending on the state, far faster than wages and inflation.

In Massachusetts, premiums jumped 119 percent between 1999 and 2009, nearly three times the 35 percent increase in wages, according to the report.

Click here for the full report.

Biden's full remarks are below:

With President Obama opening the door a crack to tort reform as part of a health care overhaul, the nation's trial lawyers are trying to slam it shut again.

The American Association for Justice announced today it is launching what it called the first phase of a nationwide ad campaign "to educate lawmakers about the epidemic of preventable medical errors and how tort law changes won’t lower costs or cover the uninsured."

The ads, running in Washington publications and on online news sites, say the estimated 98,000 deaths from preventable medical errors is “like two 737s crashing every day for a whole year.”

But the ad concludes: “Would we blame the passengers or the airlines?”

The group, formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, also has a website on the issue.

“Our health care system is clearly broken, and if we are serious about improving it, we need to fix preventable medical errors,” AAJ President Anthony Tarricone said in a statement. “This new ad campaign gives Congress 98,000 reasons why they should put patients’ health first – before the profits of insurance companies. If we work to improve our health care system and reduce medical errors – rather than strip people of their rights – there would be far fewer victims that need legal recourse.”

Obama, in his speech to Congress earlier this month, said while he didn't see malpractice reform as a "silver bullet," he was open to looking at ways to decrease "defensive medicine," when doctors order extra tests and procedures to avoid malpractice lawsuits.

Last week, the White House followed up by announcing $25 million in grants to help states and health care systems test models designed to compensate patients for malpractice but also reduce frivolous lawsuits and lower insurance premiums paid by doctors.

Kicking off four days of meetings with world leaders, President Obama declared this morning that the international response to global warming will determine how history views their success.

"Our generation’s response to this challenge will be judged by history, for if we fail to meet it – boldly, swiftly, and together – we risk consigning future generations to an irreversible catastrophe," he said at a climate change summit in New York hosted by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

"It is true that for too many years, mankind has been slow to respond to or even recognize the magnitude of the climate threat. It is true of my own country as well. We recognize that. But this is a new day. It is a new era. And I am proud to say that the United States has done more to promote clean energy and reduce carbon pollution in the last eight months than at any other time in our history," he bragged.

The president cited new fuel efficiency standards for vehicles, clean energy investments in the economic stimulus package, and energy efficiency initiatives. He also noted that in June, the US House passed a landmark climate change bill that calls for a cap-and-trade system that includes a limit on carbon emissions and a market for pollution credits.

"We understand the gravity of the climate threat," Obama said. "We are determined to act. And we will meet our responsibility to future generations." (His full remarks are below.)

But with health care backing up legislation in the Senate -- and vehement opposition from Republicans and others to cap-and-trade, it is uncertain at best that Obama will be able to deliver a signed, sealed, and delivered climate change law in time for a major global warming summit in December in Copenhagen, where advocates hope a groundbreaking agreement is approved.

Indeed, Obama is being upstaged at today's UN meeting by news that China will unveil plans to aggressively increase its energy saving programs to combat climate change.

Obama has a busy schedule on the world stage the rest of the week.

Today, he huddles separately with the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, then brings together Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for a trilateral meeting. Later, he meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Wednesday, Obama delivers his first speech to the UN General Assembly and meets with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. Thursday, the president presides over a UN Security Council session on nuclear proliferation. And on Friday, Obama hosts the main session of the G-20 economic summit in Pittsburgh.

The health care bills in Congress run to the hundreds of pages -- not surprising since they would remake a huge chunk of the US economy.

But in a new video today, the White House that suggests that all Americans need to know can be summarized much more briefly.

"The Obama Plan in Four Minutes" shows the president explaining the basic benefits -- both for those with and without insurance -- in his speech this month to a joint session of Congress. The video ends with Obama's clarion calI for action, with him imploring lawmakers, "Now's the time to deliver on health care."

Meanwhile, with Obama busy at the United Nations on Wednesday, giving a major speech to the General Assembly, Vice President Joe Biden will pick up the slack on health care.

Biden, joined by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and White House health reform Director Nancy-Ann DeParle, will lead a discussion in Silver Spring, Md., on "how health insurance reform will lower costs, cut waste, and improve health care quality for seniors across the country," the White House announced this afternoon.

With Biden taking a larger role in the health care debate, Republicans gleefully reminded that earlier this month, the vice president joked, "I do foreign policy, I don't do health care."

In his remarks at the Brookings Institution, Biden went on to say that one reason why is that foreign policy is "a lot easier than health care, and a lot less complicated." "And that's not a joke," he said.

Following up on his speech on Wall Street earlier this week warning that financial firms can't return to business as usual, President Obama uses his weekly address to put on the hard sell for his proposal to create a new agency to oversee consumer loans.

The Consumer Financial Protection Agency is a centerpiece of the financial regulation overhaul sought by Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress. But it is strongly opposed by much of the financial industry.

"Part of what led to this crisis were not just decisions made on Wall Street, but also unsustainable mortgage loans made across the country. While many folks took on more than they knew they could afford, too often folks signed contracts they didn’t fully understand offered by lenders who didn’t always tell the truth. That’s why we need clear rules, clearly enforced. And that’s what this agency will do," Obama says in his weekly radio and Internet address.

"Consumers shouldn’t have to worry about loan contracts written to confuse, hidden fees attached to their mortgages, and financial penalties – whether through a credit card or debit card -- that appear without a clear warning on their statements. And responsible lenders, including community banks, trying to do the right thing shouldn’t have to worry about ruinous competition from unregulated and unscrupulous competitors."

Obama notes the opposition, but argues, "We cannot let the narrow interests of a few come before the interests of all of us. We cannot forget how close we came to the brink, and perpetuate the broken system and breakdown of responsibility that made it possible."

In the address, the president also pledges to continue to work on the economic recovery with other world leaders, whom he will meet at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh next week.

The full remarks are below, and can be viewed here.

On the same day that current first lady Michelle Obama jumped into the fray on health care, the last first lady to take on the issue expressed optimism that President Obama's plan will be approved.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose "Hillarycare" was soundly rebuffed in the mid-1990s, promoted her experience on health care in her campaign against Obama in the Democratic primaries, saying she had the scars to prove it.

"It won't be pretty. It's like sausage-making. But we will end up with a bill for the president to sign that will be an advance," Clinton, now Obama's secretary of state, said today at the Brookings Institution. "We all have to calm down here, take two aspirin, go to bed, think about it in the morning."

President Obama called on his better half today to help make his sales pitch on health care as his overhaul plan faces brickbats from both the left and right.

First lady Michelle Obama spoke to a family-themed event sponsored by the White House Council on Women and Girls after women had told their stories of health care hardship.

According to the press pool report, the testimony came from a widow with a teenage son who had trouble finding affordable coverage, a cancer survivor who had to declare bankruptcy due to her copay and out-of-pocket costs, and a woman who has a non-cancerous lump in her breast but no insurance and who sat in the first lady's box for the president's health care speech to Congress last week.

Similar stories are happening all over the country because women are " being crushed -- crushed -- by the current structure of our health care," Michelle Obama said. "Crushed."

"This is why we are fighting so hard for health insurance reform," the first lady declared. "This is the face of the fight....People are hurting in this country right now."

And women "know the pain, because we are the ones dealing with it," she added, noting that in most families, mothers are dealing with the health care of their children, relatives, and often their husbands, as well, drawing laughter from the audience that included members of the Business and Professional Women, the YWCA, the Women’s Chamber of Commerce, and the National Council of Negro Women.

The first lady also told the story of her daughter Sasha, who at four months old contracted meningitis, and said she often wonders what would have happened if the Obamas didn't have a good pediatrician and generous insurance.

She said it's "still shocking to me" and it keeps her up at night that women are denied coverage or charged more for insurance, and that many policies don't cover basic services that women need.

"The status quo is unacceptable. It is holding women and families back," Michelle Obama said, then going on to explain major elements of the president's plan.

"I think this is a pretty reasonable plan, I don't know about you," she said, urging the audience to "mobilize like you've never mobilized before" over the next few weeks to educate people about the plan and to rebut false allegations.

"No longer can we sit by and watch the debate take on a life of it own. Now, more than ever, we have to channel our passions into change."

Also according to the press pool report, the first lady plans similar health care events, though not in the next two weeks, when she will be busy with United Nations General Assembly gathering in New York, the G-20 economic summit in Pittsburgh, and the International Olympic Committee meeting in Copenhagen, when the executive committee will choose the host for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The first lady, who previously has made helping military families her signature issue, has a significantly higher favorability rating these days than her husband.

In the most recent poll measuring both, Gallup found in April that 72 percent of Americans had a favorable impression of Michelle Obama and only 17 percent unfavorable, compared to a 69 percent favorable-28 percent unfavorable split for her husband.

The president's favorability rating has dropped since, during the heated battle over health care, to 63 percent in a Washington Post/ABC News survey earlier this month.

Her full remarks today are below:

In his recent stump speeches on health care, one of President Obama's big applause lines has been a warning to his opponents:

"I won't stand by while special interests do the same old tricks to keep things exactly the way they are....If you misrepresent what’s in the plan, we'll call you out. We will call you out," he told a rally at the University of Maryland on Thursday.

Today, the Democratic National Committee followed up by launching a new "Call ‘Em Out” campaign to help "set the record straight on GOP lies, scare tactics, and mistruths on health insurance reform" with emails and other missives to activists.

The target of the first call to action is Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, a potential Republican challenger to Obama in 2012, who the DNC says is embracing the "salacious and thoroughly debunked charge of death panels" -- committees of bureaucrats who would decide end-of-life care under the health overhaul. The DNC also put up a web video slamming Pawlenty.

"The message to Tim Pawlenty and the opponents of change who would lie or misrepresent the truth should be clear: you are not going to get away with it," DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan said in a statement. "We are going to respond forcefully and consistently with the facts and you will no longer be able to peddle your lies with impunity. Through tools like 'Call 'Em Out,' you will be met with aggressive push back from our supporters who will be armed with the facts and who will hold you accountable for playing politics with the most important issues facing our country today.”

But even many Democrats acknowledge that Republican and other critics of the health care bills got the upper hand during the August congressional recess, making it more difficult to pass a bill.

Also today, Organizing for America, Obama's grassroots political arm housed within the DNC, launched a new TV ad that uses footage from the Thursday rally where the enthusiastic crowd joins the president's chant of "Fired up, ready to go."

President Obama, who vows to "reset" the tense relationship with Russia, announced this morning he is removing a major point of dispute, scrapping plans for an elaborate missile defense system in Europe.

But the decision is being met with disappointment among some NATO allies -- and is sure to lead to more accusations from the president's conservative critics that he is soft on national defense.

In a hastily-called White House announcement, Obama said his new approach will provide "stronger, smarter, and swifter defenses" of US forces and the US mainland.

He said is committed to deploying strong missile defenses -- but those that respond to 21st century threats that are adaptable, utilize proven technology, and are cost effective.

(Obama's remarks are below, followed by the White House "fact sheet" on the new approach.)

Obama's move overturns another Bush administration policy -- it announced in 2007 planned to put 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic. While the US insisted that the system was not aimed at Russia but instead at Iran and other potential rogue nuclear states, Russia adamantly opposed the missile shield and issued bellicose threats against the countries that would have hosted it.

The US also needs Russia's help in diplomatic moves to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions.

Obama said that a seven-month review concludes Iranian short- and medium-range missiles are a greater threat than long-range missiles, and those missiles could be defended with other systems.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates followed up Obama's announcement by telling reporters that better sensors and interceptors allow the US to more quickly deploy a missile defense system in southern Europe (reports suggest Turkey) and on Aegis ships.

Gates said the new approach is better than the one he recommended to President George W. Bush nearly three years ago and that it means deployment six or seven years earlier, filling in the gap until 2015 when an upgraded missile shield can be deployed in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, backed Obama on the change.

“President Obama’s decision to restructure missile defense in Europe is correct and timely," Kerry said in a statement. "Proven technologies and responsible diplomacy must be at the core of missile defense in Europe, and now is the time to press forward with the more flexible missile defense architecture that the President and Secretary Gates have chosen. NATO is the bedrock of our security, whether a country is at the geographic heart of the alliance or on its frontiers. The President’s new proposal will provide a stronger and more effective defense for American forces and our NATO allies."

Representative Ike Skelton of Missouri, the Democratic chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, also generally endorsed Obama's move.

“While I look forward to reviewing the details of the President’s plan, it appears the new missile defense strategy for Europe is a comprehensive approach that will counter the most immediate missile threats from Iran and protect our allies and our troops in the region," he said in a statement.

“As a practical matter, deployment of the European third site was still a long way away. This new approach, which has the support of both the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, focuses our resources where they will do the most good. The plan is also consistent with NATO’s policy that the deployment of ballistic missile defenses be prioritized according to the imminence of the threat and the level of acceptable risk.”

But Senator Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican, called the decision "dangerous and short-sighted."

"Not only does this decision leave America vulnerable to the growing Iranian long-range missile threat, it also turns back the clock to the days of the Cold War, when Eastern Europe was considered the domain of Russia. This will be a bitter disappointment, indeed, even a warning to the people of Eastern Europe," Kyl said in a statement.

"The message the administration sends today is clear: the United States will not stand behind its friends and views 're-setting' relations with Russia more important. This is wrong!"

Representative John Boehner, the top House Republican, also blasted Obama's decision.

“Scrapping the US missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic does little more than empower Russia and Iran at the expense of our allies in Europe," Boehner said in a statement. "It shows a willful determination to continue ignoring the threat posed by some of the most dangerous regimes in the world, while taking one of the most important defenses against Iran off the table. Since taking control of Congress, House Democrats have cut our missile defense budget by $1.2 billion, undermining our commitment to our allies and weakening our national security. I urge the President to reconsider this ill-advised decision, stand with our allies, and do what’s right for the safety and security of the American people.”

Another Republican, Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri, went as far as to accuse Obama of appeasement.

“Seventy years ago today, the Soviet Union invaded Poland. And, today, at the Russians’ request, the Obama Administration has agreed to abandon the missile defense shield developed to protect our close allies in Eastern Europe," Blunt said in a statement.

“The administration’s decision to scrap the missile defense plan is incredibly shortsighted and comes at the expense of our allies in the War on Terror....Appeasement of dangerous nations does not inspire peace. We must stand firm and send the signal that we will not back down when the safety of Americans and our allies is at stake.”

President Obama took his health care pitch to a college campus today, telling a cheering crowd at the University of Maryland that he is keeping his promise to not just clean up the messes he inherited, but build a better future.

In a message tailored for the young people who powered his campaign, Obama said his domestic agenda is designed to "ensure your generation" has the same opportunities as his.

He specifically mentioned that Congress is on the cusp of overhauling the student loan system to make it simpler and cheaper for students. "That's the change you worked for, that's the change you voted for, that's the change I will deliver," he said.

The president said another defining struggle for the younger generation is his push for sweeping changes to the nation's health care system. While young people might think they're immune from health problems, one third have trouble paying their medical bills, he said.

Despite all the machinations on the details of the health care bills, Obama said the bottom-line issue is simpler:

"It's about what kind of country you want to be. You gave time to this campaign because you believe America can still do great things.

"I may not be the first president to take up the cause of health care reform," he said. "I am determined to be the last -- with your help."

His full remarks are below:

The part of President Obama's health care speech last week that many Republicans liked most was when he suggested he'd be open to changes on medical malpractice.

"I don't believe malpractice reform is a silver bullet, but I've talked to enough doctors to know that defensive medicine may be contributing to unnecessary costs," Obama told Congress. "So I'm proposing that we move forward on a range of ideas about how to put patient safety first and let doctors focus on practicing medicine."

Today, the White House followed up, announcing a $25 million demonstration project to help states and health care systems test models with the following goals: "Put patient safety first and work to reduce preventable injuries; foster better communication between doctors and their patients; ensure that patients are compensated in a fair and timely manner for medical injuries, while also reducing the incidence of frivolous lawsuits; and reduce liability premiums."

"This is an area we know we can do better," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told reporters today. "As many as 98,000 Americans die every year from medical errors. And though malpractice premiums themselves count for only a small percentage of total medical costs, many doctors report that they practice costly defensive medicine because they are fearful of lawsuits."

Tort reform has long been a goal of Republicans and doctors -- and long opposed by trial lawyers who are among the most generous donors to Democrats.

The trial lawyers association immediately weighed in with its concerns.

“Any changes to the malpractice system must focus on patient safety and preventable medical errors, not limiting patients’ legal rights," American Association for Justice President Anthony Tarricone said in a statement.

“The goals outlined by the White House – such as reducing the number of injuries, fostering better communication, compensating patients quicker, and reducing doctors’ premiums – move the debate in the right direction. However, 46 states have already enacted tort reform and health care costs continue to hurt the pocketbooks of American families. Because of these tort reforms, patients injured through no fault of their own are often unable to seek justice.

“It is critical that these demonstration projects preserve Americans’ 7th Amendment right to a trial by jury. The details matter significantly, but any efforts to limit patients’ rights are not acceptable. Promoting greater patient safety and reducing preventable medical errors are tenets doctors, attorneys, hospitals, and all Americans can support.”

UPDATE: "I don't think it's a silver bullet, but I want to explore the ideas," Obama told a health care rally today at the University of Maryland.

But Republicans are skeptical, to say the least.

"The half-trillion in Medicare cuts, the tax hikes, expansion of government health care and nearly a trillion dollars in spending—all real, all supported by the administration. But the 'bipartisan outreach” on medical liability reform is a “demonstration project?' Really?" Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell's office said in a statement.

"And looking over their proposal, it’s difficult to find any reference to any of the typical medical liability provisions, such as: limits on punitive damages, appropriate standards for awarding punitive damages, limits on non-economic damages, limits on attorneys’ fees, requirements for proportional or 'fair share' liability (no joint and several liability), reasonable statute of limitations."

Obama's proclamation on the initiative can be viewed here, and the White House background paper is below.

By Farah Stockman, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- Even as President Obama said today that he won't make a quick decision on an expected Pentagon request to send more US troops to Afghanistan, senior White House officials gave a long-awaited confidential briefing to members of Congress on the benchmarks that the administration intends to use to measure the success of the military mission there.

The metrics, which Obama promised in a high profile speech in March, were meant to send the message that the White House has narrowly tailored its objectives in Afghanistan to focus on terrorism. At the time, Obama announced that he was sending 21,000 more US troops, bringing the force to about 68,000 by year's end, and said he would demand measurable progress.

But some of the 40 or so lawmakers who attended today's briefing complained that the administration's benchmarks describe a far more open-ended commitment in Afghanistan.

"The stated goal is rhetorically narrowing the missions but it is anything but that," said Senator Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "There is no question in my mind based on the metrics that have been laid out that this is nation-building."

Senator Robert Casey Jr., a Pennsylvania Democrat who serves on the same committee, offered a more generous assessment, but said he, too is "not yet satisfied."

He also said the White House should make the metrics public as soon as possible. "They need to be out there," he said. "The American people need frequent reporting."

The list of 46 metrics, obtained by the Globe and first posted online by Foreign Policy, includes some obvious measures of success, such as the percentage of the population living under insurgent control and the capabilities and size of the Afghan national army. But the list also contained some nontraditional measures, such as support for human rights, the ability of the Afghan government to collect taxes, and the ability to hold credible elections.

Click here to see the metrics.

He doesn't have any Republican support, and many Democrats aren't all that thrilled, either. But Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus stuck to his deadline and this morning formally unveiled his plan to overhaul the nation's health care system.

The bill would cost about $856 billion over the next 10 years, require all individuals to purchase coverage or pay a fine, and ban insurers from charging more or denying coverage to people with health problems. It does not include the public option -- a government plan along the lines of Medicare -- but does call for nonprofit coops to compete with private insurers.

The bill would create a new exchange where consumers could compare and buy insurance plans. Medicaid, the government health care program for the poor, would be expanded.

Baucus would pay for the expansion of care with $507 billion in cuts to government health programs and $349 billion in new taxes and fees, including a new tax on generous insurance plans -- so-called Cadillac coverage -- and new fees on insurance companies and medical device manufacturers.

Click here to see "America's Healthy Future Act of 2009."

The Senate Finance bill is expected to be the vehicle for the proposals sought by the White House and described by President Obama in his speech to Congress last week.

"We will act and pass health reform legislation this year," Baucus declared as he promoted his bill in a Capitol Hill news conference this afternoon, saying that it would expand coverage, slow the rise in health care costs, and keep insurers honest.

"It follows the criteria laid out by President Obama," Baucus said, adding that the bill will eventually draw bipartisan support.

"This is a good bill, this is a balanced bill," Baucus said, calling it "a common-sense bill that can pass the Senate."

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs called the legislation an "important building block" that "gets us closer to comprehensive health care reform."

The legislation protects Medicare and preserves patients' right to keep their doctor, he continued, while keeping the deficit under control by offering the most generous coverage possible while keeping the price tag under Obama's target of $900 billion over 10 years.

Still, he acknowledged that there are "honest and principled differences" on the proposals and that his plan "may not represent all of our first choices."

UPDATE: The top House Republican wasn't buying the Baucus plan.

“It looks like the same kind of plan we’ve seen in House," said Representative John Boehner of Ohio. "It’s got a little different language, but it’s still a big government plan, it still calls for higher taxes and more spending and I don’t think it is going to get enough support to get very far in the United States Senate.”

Despite months of negotiations, however, Baucus was unable to get the three Republicans in the so-called Gang of Six to sign on. One of them, Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, bemoaned what he called an "artificial deadline."

"I’m disappointed because it looks like we’re being pushed aside by the Democratic leadership so the Senate can move forward on a bill that, up to this point, does not meet the shared goals for affordable, accessible health coverage that we set forth when this process began. In addition to concerns about costs to taxpayers and affordability for individuals, there are still some serious outstanding issues that have yet to be resolved like preventing taxpayer funding of abortion services and the enforcement against subsidies for illegal aliens," Grassley said in a statement.

"On top of all that, there’s no guarantee that a Finance Committee bill, even if it becomes bipartisan, will stay that way after it leaves the committee. An overriding issue for some time has been the fact that members of the Democratic leadership haven’t made a commitment to back a broad bipartisan bill through the entire process," added Grassley, who negotiated along with Republicans Mike Enzi of Wyoming and Olympia Snowe of Maine.

But in an op-ed published in today's Wall Street Journal, Baucus said he couldn't wait any longer.

"Health care is a complicated and deeply personal issue; it takes time and effort to get reform right. Legislating every piece of this puzzle would be impossible and counterproductive," he wrote. "What we can do is seize this opportunity to put America back on a fiscally sustainable path. The Senate Finance Committee proposal builds on what already works and fixes what threatens to break the bank for future generations."

Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina, the No. 3 Democrat in the House, said he considers the Baucus bill "a draft" for subsequent negotiation. He said on MSNBC that the House will pass a bill that offers more protections and more coverage -- and that would also be more expensive than the Senate bill, closer to $1 billion.

UPDATE: A key Democratic group criticized Baucus's plan, saying it "absolutely fails to meet the most basic health care needs of working families and it fails to meet the expectations we have set for our nation."

"It fails to put pressure on private insurers to control health care costs. There is no history or logic behind the claim that health care co-ops would provide real competition for the giant private insurers that have a stranglehold on health coverage today," AFL-CIO president John Sweeney said in a statement.

"If you're an individual who does not purchase private health coverage, it sticks you with a hefty tax penalty even though it fails to provide sufficient subsidies to make plans affordable for low and moderate income families. But if you're an irresponsible employer who does not provide coverage, you get off scot free," he continued.

"Outrageously, the plan imposes a 35 percent tax on high-cost health care plans without prohibiting insurers from passing on the tax to consumers who happen to be in groups that are older or sicker than average or live in high cost areas.

"The Senate Finance proposal, sadly, is little more than a throwback to the failed policies of the last three decades that advantaged corporations over taxpayers and bestowed special breaks on the wealthy while ignoring the middle class. The proposal does include the important insurance reform and health care delivery system improvements adopted by earlier congressional committees, and it builds on these by reforming the way we pay for health services to focus on the quality of services instead of the quantity. But the proposal's strong points are nowhere near sufficient to outweigh its problems. However well intentioned the attempts at bipartisanship, the final product reflects the bankrupt policies of the past more than the forward-looking policies needed to drive meaningful health care reform.

"We are counting on finance committee Democrats to fix the bill and side with working families, not insurance companies."

President Obama signaled today that he won't make a quick decision on an expected Pentagon request to send more US troops to Afghanistan.

"My determination is to get this right," Obama said after meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose country is part of the coalition fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Obama has already sent 21,000 more US troops, bringing the force to about 65,000 by year's end. But the top US commander in Afghanistan is expected to formally seek more reinforcements, and the nation's top military officer told a Senate committee yesterday he will support that request.

But several key Democrats in Congress have said in recent days that they are very wary of sending more troops.

"When I came in, I had to make a series of immediate decisions about sending additional troops to ensure that the election could take place during the fighting season. But I was crystal clear at the time that post-election we were going to need to do an additional assessment," Obama told reporters.

"General McChrystal has carried out his own assessment on the military's strategy, but it's important that we also do an assessment on the civilian side, the diplomatic side, the development side, that we analyze the results of the election, and then make further decisions moving forward."

And if there were any doubt, Obama went on, "I just want to be absolutely clear, because there's a lot -- been a lot of discussion in the press about this, that there is no immediate decision pending on resources.

"Because one of the things that I'm absolutely clear about is you have to get the strategy right and then make the determinations about resources. You don't make determinations about resources, and certainly you don't make determinations about sending young men and women into battle, without having absolute clarity about what the strategy's going to be."

The president also said he was "extremely grateful" to the Canadian armed forces for fighting with staying power and suffering losses.

While welcoming the additional US presence, Harper said he was concerned by the strength of the insurgency.

(Their full remarks are below.)

UPDATE: Senator John F. Kerry, presiding over a hearing today on Afghanistan, voiced the concerns of many Democrats.

"Frankly, I am concerned by where we are today in Afghanistan -- about the rising number of casualties among our troops and those of our allies, about the deeply flawed presidential voting that took place, about the impunity with which drug traffickers operate, and about the rampant corruption undermining the faith of Afghans in their government and ours," he said at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

"And most of all, I am concerned because at the very moment when our troops and our allies’ troops are sacrificing more and more, our plan, our path and our progress seem to be growing less and less clear."

(His full prepared remarks are below.)

By Farah Stockman, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- The One Laptop Per Child Foundation, the Cambridge-based computer company, is now billing itself as a tool in the counter-insurgency campaign against Islamic extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Today on Capitol Hill, its founder, Nicholas Negroponte, is appearing with the ambassadors of both Afghanistan and Pakistan to the United States and with Senator John McCain to make a pitch for spreading the low-cost, child-friendly computers across the Pashtun belt. (Click here
to see the flier.)

In the past, the foundation was best known for its efforts in Africa as it works with governments of developing countries to bring laptops to poor schoolchildren. Negroponte originally aimed for $100 computers, but last year had to raise its price to more than $200 because of rising costs.

By Stephanie Vallejo, Globe correspondent

WASHINGTON -- President Obama's nominees for ambassador to Spain and Norway -- Massachusetts residents Alan Solomont and Barry B. White -- touted their commitment to public service and leadership before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today as they moved a step closer to confirmation.

Democratic fund-raiser Alan Solomont of Weston, nominated as the chief US envoy to Spain, highlighted his roots in community organizing and his experience as the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees national service programs.

“I am grateful to have served at a time when support for national and community service has never been greater,” Solomont testified at the confirmation hearing presided over by Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. “I hope to showcase this important American tradition at embassy Madrid.”

White, the nominee for envoy to Norway and an executive board member of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and director of the Massachusetts Alliance for International Business, noted his work as chair of Lex Mundi, an association of independent law firms, in developing its pro bono foundation serving social entrepreneurs worldwide.

White also spoke of Norway’s role in promoting human rights and democracy internationally, its healthy trade relationship with the United States, and its potential as a partner in energy and environmental matters.

President Obama is in union country today to talk up his economic agenda, and get in a plug for his health plan as well.

In a campaign-style speech this morning at the GM plant in Lordstown, Ohio, Obama vowed to stand up for working people who helped put him in office.

He acknowledged the long-running economic crisis in the industrial Midwest, but said he's not willing to accept it.

"There are some who see this pain and suggest that it's all somehow inevitable -- that the only way for America to get ahead is for communities like yours to be left behind. But I know better. We know better," Obama said. "We know that our success on a nation depends on the success of communities just like this one. We know that the battle for America's future is not just going to be won in the big cities, not just on the coasts, but in towns like Elkhart, Indiana, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Warren, Ohio, and Youngstown.

"You deserve better than the attitude that's prevailed from Washington to Wall Street to Detroit for too long; an attitude that valued wealth over work, selfishness over sacrifice, and greed over responsibility. And that's why I want you to know that every day I step into the Oval Office, I am thinking about you, I am working for you, and I am fighting on your behalf," he added.

Obama said his administration has already been doing so, with the government support for GM and other automakers, the cash-for-clunkers program, and the push for more fuel-efficient vehicles.

"There's little debate that the decisions we've made and the steps we've taken have helped stop our economic freefall. In some places, they've helped us turn the corner. Home sales are up, business investment is starting to stabilize, for the first time in 18 months, we are actually seeing growth in American manufacturing instead of decline. I know that's small consolation when so many people you know are still out of work. It's going to take some time to achieve a complete recovery. But I want you to know: I will not rest until anyone looking for a job can find one - and I'm not talking about just any job; but good jobs that give every family decent wages, decent benefits, and a fair shot at the American Dream. That's what I'm fighting for every day," Obama said.

"And yes, just in case you were wondering, we are fighting for an America where no American should have to worry about going without health insurance or fear that one illness could cost them everything. We're going to reform the system to provide more security and stability to those of you who have health insurance; we're going to offer quality, affordable choices to those who currently don't have health insurance; and bring health care costs for our families, our businesses, and our government under control."

(His full remarks are below.)

UPDATE: This afternoon, Obama was greeted with rapturous applause and cheers at the AFL-CIO national convention in Pittsburgh.

"You guys are making me blush," the president said. "The White House is pretty nice, but there's nothing like being back in the house of labor."

Obama paid tribute to outgoing AFL-CIO president John Sweeney and incoming chief Richard Trumka and said that being with union members reminds him of what's important in Washington and why he ran for president.

He wants to help working families reach the American dream, he said, telling of a union member choking up when talking about not being able to afford health coverage for his wife.

"When our middle class succeeds, that's when the United States of America succeeds," he declared.

He won some of his biggest applause when he expressed support for labor's biggest legislative priority -- a bill that would make it easier for workers to organize.

The bill is vehemently opposed by business groups and Republicans, and has languished in Congress. Labor leaders have hinted that they would accept a compromise that would force quicker elections, rather than the original bill that would remove the requirement for secret union elections.

He also gave an impassioned pitch for his health care overhaul, saying that union members know well that many families are one medical emergency away from financial ruin and need coverage that they can count on.

"How much longer do we have to wait?" Obama asked. "We can't wait."

"We can't wait!" the crowd chanted in reply.

(His full remarks to the AFL-CIO are below.)

Big labor was a big reason why Obama won the presidency, and the Republican National Committee sent out a research paper suggesting that he's still beholden to unions with policies that will damage the US economy.

The nation's top military officer, seeking another term in the job, will face some tough questions on Afghanistan before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is preaching patience, telling the Globe recently that it will take 12 months to 18 months to turn around the mission after it received short shrift during the war in Iraq.

But patience appears to be running out in Congress and in the public as the US death toll rises eight years into the war.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Armed Services chairman Carl Levin both made highly public statements last week to express deep skepticism about an expected request to send more US troops, beyond the 21,000 that President Obama has already dispatched.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released this morning found public support for the war at its lowest point. In the survey, conducted Friday through Sunday, 39 percent of respondents said they favor the war and 58 percent said they oppose it.

As recently as May, a majority supported the war in the CNN poll. But July and August were each the bloodiest of the war for US forces.

UPDATE: Mullen told the committee that winning in Afghanistan "probably means more forces," though he said he does not know how many troops the top military commander in the country will seek.

"It's very clear to me that we will need more resources," to carry out the new counterinsurgency strategy, Mullen said, according to the Associated Press.

The much fought-over public option -- a government-run plan along the lines of Medicare that would be widely available -- is looking less likely as part of a sweeping health care overhaul.

But a liberal group is not giving up.

Health Care for America Now launched a new ad airing on national cable today slamming insurers for getting rich by jacking up premiums and denying treatment and overpaying CEOS -- and urging supporters to tell Congress that a public plan is the only way to keep insurance companies in check.

"If the insurance companies win, you lose," the announcer says.

President Obama has been walking a thin line on the public option, trying to reassure his allies that it is his preference, but also bowing to political reality by suggesting it's not a deal-breaker. In a Washington Post/ABC News poll published Monday, support for a health care overhaul rose significantly if a public option was deleted.

A public option is not in the plan that Senate Finance chairman Max Baucus is putting together -- and that is likely to be the vehicle for Obama's plan in Congress.

Also today, a faith-based coalition that is helping Obama make the "moral" case for health reform -- he spoke to them in a webcast last month -- is urging its members to call their members of Congress today. And on Wednesday, clergy, advocates, and others will lobby lawmakers personally.

In recent weeks, the coalition said, "the faith community demonstrated widespread support for affordable quality health care for all — 300,000 people listened to the August 19th health care web-cast and call-in with faith leaders and President Obama, clergy in congregations across the country preached about health care reform and called for a civil and honest debate, and the faith community held large public events to build support for affordable health reform nationwide."

By Farah Stockman, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- After a string of high-profile skepticism from Democrats in Congress about the war in Afghanistan, Senator John F. Kerry will also express concern in an interview airing Tuesday on PBS and in hearings he will preside over on Wednesday ("Countering the Threat of Failure") and Thursday ("Exploring Three Strategies for Afghanistan") as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Key Democrats have done their best to preempt any potential request for more troops from Obama. At a press conference on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she did not believe there was much support for sending more troops. In a floor speech on Friday, Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Carl Levin said he wants to see an increase in Afghanistan's armed forces before committing more US troops.

Tuesday on "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," Kerry will express his own "long-standing concerns" about whether the current military footprint in Afghanistan is the best way to achieve US goals, according to Kerry communications director Frederick Jones.

But Jones said that Kerry, who first made his name opposing the Vietnam war, will "reserve final judgment on troop levels and our policy writ large until he hears from the administration and military leaders."

A liberal-labor coalition is up with a new TV ad arguing that opposition President Obama's health care overhaul could cost members of Congress at the polls next November.

The spot from Americans United for Change shows a political consultant apologizing to a losing candidate at 11:03 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 2, 2010.

"Congressman as your political consultant," he says to the camera. "I’m sorry you lost. I was wrong. Turned out the voters hated the stranglehold the insurance companies have on health care, raising premiums, cutting off people with pre-existing conditions, making health care decisions instead of doctors. And they didn’t much like the millionaire insurance CEO’s you were hanging with either. Guess your vote against health insurance reform turned out to be bad politics.”

But a new poll shows why some lawmakers are so skittish about jumping aboard the Obama health care bandwagon.

The Washington Post-ABC News survey published today found that while opposition has eased somewhat since the August town halls, Obama still faces deep skepticism about key elements of the Democratic plan.

In the poll, 48 percent oppose the proposals, while 46 percent favor them, and 48 percent of respondents approve Obama's handling of the issue, while 48 percent disapprove.

The public is also evenly divided -- 51 percent in favor, 47 percent against -- on whether people should be required to have health insurance.

UPDATE: A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released this afternoon also showed the public still largely divided on Obama's health care plan: 51 percent said they favored it and 46 percent opposed it, a slight improvement for the president from 48 percent in favor and 51 percent against in late August.

The survey also showed an uptick in how Americans view Obama's handling of the issue to 51 percent approval and in his overall job performance to 58 percent approval.

The CNN survey, conducted Friday through Sunday, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Speaking one year to the day from when the collapse of Lehman Brothers threatened the entire US financial system, President Obama declared today that it's time for the federal government to extract itself from rescue efforts.

But he also asserted that to prevent a similar meltdown, the government needs to impose stricter and more sweeping regulations.

He started what the White House billed as a "major" speech by reminding Americans how close the economy came to the brink.

"This was no longer just a financial crisis; it had become a full-blown economic crisis, with home prices sinking, businesses struggling to access affordable credit, and the economy shedding an average of 700,000 jobs each month," Obama said.

Thanks to the government support to Wall Street, the loosening of credit, and the $787 billion economic stimulus package, the economy is on the road to recovery, the president said.

"Eight months later, the work of recovery continues. And though I will never be satisfied while people are out of work and our financial system is weakened, we can be confident that the storms of the past two years are beginning to break," Obama said.

"In fact, while there continues to be a need for government involvement to stabilize the financial system, that necessity is waning," he added. "After months in which public dollars were flowing into our financial system, we are finally beginning to see money flowing back to taxpayers. This doesn’t mean taxpayers will escape the worst financial crisis in decades entirely unscathed....While full recovery of the financial system will take a great deal more time and work, the growing stability resulting from these interventions means we are beginning to return to normalcy."

"But here's what I want to emphasize is this: normalcy cannot lead to complacency," Obama argued.

And that means new and improved regulation -- what he called "the most ambitious overhaul of the financial system since the Great Depression" -- that includes a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency to enforce new rules safeguarding the public and an oversight council to bring together regulators from across markets so problems don't slip through the cracks.

His audience at Federal Hall in the heart of New York's financial district included Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the president's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, leaders of consumer advocacy groups, Wall Street CEOs, and members of Congress, including Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, who with Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut is shepherding financial regulatory reform.

"We will not go back to the days of reckless behavior and unchecked excess that was at the heart of this crisis, where too many were motivated only by the appetite for quick kills and bloated bonuses," Obama vowed. "Those on Wall Street cannot resume taking risks without regard for consequences, and expect that next time, American taxpayers will be there to break their fall."

The president said he believes in free markets and wanted to work with the financial industry to come up with the regulations. But he also said the firms receiving help owe a debt to American taxpayers and that those who oppose government intervention do so at their own peril.

"I certainly did not run for president to bail out banks or intervene in the capital markets," he said. "But it is important to note that the very absence of common-sense regulations able to keep up with a fast-paced financial sector is what created the need for that extraordinary intervention. The lack of sensible rules of the road, so often opposed by those who claim to speak for the free market, led to a rescue far more intrusive than anything any of us, Democrat or Republican, progressive or conservative, would have proposed or predicted," he said.

"What took place one year ago was not merely a failure of regulation or legislation; it wasn't just a failure of oversight or foresight. It was also a failure of responsibility -- it was fundamentally a failure of responsibility -- that allowed Washington to become a place where problems – including structural problems in our financial system – were ignored rather than solved," he chided. "It was a failure of responsibility that led homebuyers and derivative traders alike to take reckless risks they couldn’t afford. It was a collective failure of responsibility in Washington, on Wall Street, and across America that led to the near-collapse of our financial system one year ago....

"One year ago, we saw in stark relief how markets can spin out of control; how a lack of common-sense rules can lead to excess and abuse; how close we can come to the brink. One year later, it is incumbent upon us to put in place those reforms that will prevent this kind of crisis from ever happening again; reflecting the painful but important lessons that we’ve learned; and that will help us move from a period of recklessness and one of crisis to one of responsibility and prosperity. That is what we must do. And I’m confident that is what we will do."

(His full remarks are below.)

Republicans immediately warned against a bigger government role in the markets, saying that taxpayers will ultimately pay.

“For the average American, the best measure of the economy is whether or not they have a job so they can pay the mortgage, make the car payment and put food on the table. For more than 3 million Americans who have lost their jobs this year, the president’s policies have been a failure," Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele said in a statement.

"His $787 billion stimulus bill has led to wasteful spending but hasn’t created the jobs he promised. And every time he has wanted to expand the government’s influence over the economy and our daily lives, from his takeover of GM and banks to his proposed government-run takeover of our health care, it has meant spending more money we don’t have and digging America deeper into debt. Those are the real results of the president’s experiments on our economy, and no amount of speeches will convince the American people otherwise.”

The top House Republican, Representative John Boehner of Ohio, faulted Obama for not saying more clearly how taxpayers will be taken off the hook for the financial bailouts.

"Missing from the President’s remarks today was a clear exit strategy for the federal government’s involvement in the private sector. American taxpayers have had enough of open-ended bailouts that have left them stuck with an eye-popping tab in the form of trillions in new debt. This generational theft must end. If the President wants to restore consumer and investor confidence, he should work with Republicans in Congress to craft policies that help hard-working families and small businesses weather this storm and get back to creating good-paying jobs," Boehner said in a statement.

“With consumer spending just about frozen and unemployment near double-digit levels, the last thing we need are new layers of bureaucracy and burdensome regulations that restrict access to financial products and discourage economic growth. House Republicans have delivered a to reform our financial system smartly by bolstering anti-fraud protection efforts, streamlining the hodgepodge of confusing federal agencies, and strengthening transparency and accountability so that consumers can make informed choices. We hope Democrats will work with us on responsible solutions as Congress moves forward on this issue.”

President Obama points today to a new Treasury report to warn that many Americans could face the loss of health insurance -- a plight that could be prevented with his health care overhaul plan.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama says he's continued to hear from worried Americans since his speech to Congress on Wednesday night -- and for good reason since during the last year of economic turmoil, "nearly six million more Americans lost their health coverage – that’s 17,000 men and women every single day.

"We’re not just talking about Americans in poverty, either – we’re talking about middle-class Americans. In other words, it can happen to anyone," says Obama. "And based on a brand-new report from the Treasury Department, we can expect that about half of all Americans under 65 will lose their health coverage at some point over the next ten years. If you’re under the age of 21 today, chances are more than half that you’ll find yourself uninsured at some point in that time. And more than one-third of Americans will go without coverage for longer than one year."

(Click here to read the report.)

"I refuse to allow that future to happen," declares the president, who holds a health care rally later today in Minneapolis. "In the United States of America, no one should have to worry that they’ll go without health insurance – not for one year, not for one month, not for one day. And once I sign my health reform plan into law – they won’t."

Obama then runs down his plan, and vows again to get a bill passed this year.

"Affordable, quality care within reach for the tens of millions of Americans who don’t have it today. Stability and security for the hundreds of millions who do. That’s the reform we seek," he says.

"We have had a long and important debate. But now is the time for action. Because every day we wait, more Americans will lose their health care, their businesses, and their homes – but also the dreams they’ve worked for and the peace of mind they deserve. They are why we have to succeed."

Click here to watch the address. The full remarks are below:

Fresh off his health care speech to Congress that polls suggest reassured the public and that reenergized some fellow Democrats, President Obama takes his health care pitch on the road.

Saturday, he will hold a rally at the Target Center in Minneapolis. On Tuesday, he will speak in Pittsburgh to the convention of the AFL-CIO, one of his biggest backers on health care. And on Thursday, Obama will hold another health care rally in College Park, Md., the White House announced this evening.

When he arrives in Minneapolis, he will be greeted by a TV ad from the Minnesota GOP.

The spot shows Obama vowing to "change the world" at a campaign rally last year in the same arena -- before the announcer says he is proposing a "risky" health care plan, citing news reports to assert that Obama's plan would cut Medicare, ration care, raise taxes, and explode the federal deficit.

"Mr. President, let's slow down and do health care reform the right way," the announcer says.

The bipartisan "Gang of Six" -- three Democrats and three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee -- are trying to reach a compromise by early next week.

The Senate Finance bill appears to be the most likely legislative vehicle for the blueprint Obama laid out to Congress on Wednesday night. Chairman Max Baucus's plan dovetails with Obama's on most major issues and has the same general cost of $900 billion over 10 years, while bills passed by House Democrats include measures the president has not embraced.

Republican Party chief Michael Steele is raising eyebrows again -- this time for questioning President Obama's use in his health care speech of a letter the president received from the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

Making it public for the first time, Obama quoted from it near the end of his speech Wednesday night to urge lawmakers pass health care as a moral issue that showed the country's character.

But Steele called it a "political tool."

Questioned this afternoon on CNN about that characterization, Steele backtracked a little.

"I'm not slamming the president on this," he said. "I just thought something like that was so personal in many respects, and particularly so soon after the senator's death -- I just didn't think it was the right time to reveal that or have that conversation or to say it. That was all. It was just an opinion."

Acknowledging that Kennedy might have wanted the letter read publicly since he championed health care reform, Steele added, "Be that as it may, the reality of it is, that to me is more of a diversion and a distraction from the underlying speech itself. Which, in my view, the president, I think, missed an opportunity to clearly define in a common-sense, straightforward way, exactly how we should go about the business of reforming those aspects of our health care system that we have particular problems with."

Democratic Congressional Campaign Chairman Chris Van Hollen blasted Steele.

“Last night, President Obama called on us to replace acrimony with civility, yet Republican Chairman Steele’s outlandish comments only serve to increase the acrimony and deny the American people the substantive debate on health insurance reform that this critical challenge merits," Van Hollen said in a statement.

“The late Senator Kennedy devoted his life to reforming health care in America and he would have been proud of President Obama’s eloquent call for action last night. Michael Steele’s time would be better spent condemning Congressman Joe Wilson’s outrageous outburst, rather than further poisoning the political discourse by attacking the heartfelt intentions of a dedicated American who spent his life working on health care reform.”

David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Obama, told the Globe Wednesday night that Kennedy's widow had informed the White House of the letter that the senator wanted delivered after his death and that Obama was so moved by it that he wrote the closing part of the speech mentioning it himself.

By Joseph Williams, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- Senators from both parties spent more than five hours today paying bittersweet tribute to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, recalling their late colleague as the chamber's generous elder statesman, a passionate liberal, and a fierce, well-schooled politician who never shied away from a tough political fight.

But when the legislative skirmishing was over, his fellow senators recalled, Kennedy never held a grudge and knew the difference between a political adversary and an enemy. And, they noted, he had nearly as many close friends among Republicans as he did among his Democratic allies.

A day after President Obama invoked Kennedy's memory in a forceful address on health care to a highly-charged joint session of Congress, however, some tributes to Kennedy were tinged with politics.

Several Democrats echoed the call to fulfill Kennedy's vision of accessible, affordable healthcare, while Republicans mourned him as perhaps the last Democrat willing to negotiate with them in good faith on difficult legislation.

Still, nearly all lionized a man they described as a one-of-a-kind lawmaker, a Senate legend whose good humor, leadership, selflessness, and encyclopedic knowledge of the chamber in which he served for nearly a half-century may never be replaced.

"The impact he etched into our history will long endure," Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said. "The liberal lion's mighty roar may now fall on deaf ears, but his dream shall never die."

In his tribute, Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut proposed that the caucus room in the Russell Senate Office Building -- just down the hall from Kennedy's office -- be renamed in honor of the Kennedy brothers. The historic room was host to the Watergate hearings and more recently where the Senate health committee, which Kennedy chaired, wrote the health care bill in his absence; it's also where both John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy announced their presidential candidacies.

"This was Teddy's wish and desire. I asked him,'' Dodd said on the Senate floor. "He said, 'I'd like you to recognize my brothers as well.' ''

Kennedy, 77, died Aug. 25 after a 15-month battle with brain cancer. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery beside his two slain brothers.

The heartfelt, at times emotional tributes began shortly after 9:30 a.m. and were scheduled to end two hours later, but the session was extended to 2:30 p.m. so more colleagues could speak. By the end of the day, 23 Democrats and 10 Republicans had taken the floor to hail Kennedy, representing the ideological spectrum that Kennedy had often bridged since taking office in 1962.

Senator Jeff Sessions -- a conservative Republican from Alabama whose nomination to the federal bench Kennedy helped scuttle in 1986 -- paid tribute to Kennedy's passion for civil rights. Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, recalled Kennedy got a hero's welcome during a layover in Ireland on an overseas Senate trip, and Irish passers-by followed him through the airport like the Pied Piper. A frail Senator Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat who at nearly 92 is the longest-serving member, eulogized his good friend with a reading from a book of poetry the late senator gave him years ago.

After hailing Kennedy as a civil rights champion who changed history and "touched lives," Senator Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, walked to Kennedy's desk, draped with a black velvet shroud, a vase of white flowers and a copy of his favorite poem, "The Road Less Traveled." Levin stood at Kennedy's chair, bowed his head for several moments and left the chamber.

Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, a Democrat, recalled a loud shouting match with Kennedy, their apology, and a quip the late senator made to a worried aide afterward: "That's just the way two Irishmen celebrate St. Patrick's Day."

Republican Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee remembered his freshman term, when Kennedy offered to find sponsors for Alexander's very first bill. Senator Barbara Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat, said she donned a Jackie Onassis costume for one of Kennedy's renowned costume parties, then asked him if she could pass for his late sister-in-law.

"He said, 'Nice try,' " Mikulski said.

Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican and a close friend, said Kennedy was skilled in political infighting, and knew how to use his bluster and booming voice to good effect to pass a bill. But "he had a sixth sense of when the time was right" for a compromise in the best interests of the nation.

"He was almost always effective, but rarely very quiet," Hatch said. "There were always adversaries, never enemies."

In Kennedy's memory, Hatch said, "I hope that more of us adopt his approach to the legislative process."

Susan Milligan of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

Following up his more assertive pitch Wednesday night for a sweeping health care bill, President Obama focused this morning on insurance fixes, saying Americans live "at the whims" of insurance companies.

"I will not allow reform to be imperiled or postponed," he told members of the American Nurses Association. "We've talked this issue to death."

Obama cited new Census figures out today that the number of uninsured Americans rose slightly to 46.3 million last year and said that surveys shows that 6 million have joined the ranks of the uninsured during the economic recession.

Then saying, "just in case people weren't tuned in last night," he did a quick rundown of the changes he wants to prevent insurers from denying coverage for preexisting conditions and other changes.

A nonpartisan Massachusetts research group noted this afternoon that the Census estimates showed that Massachusetts had the lowest percentage of uninsured, about 5.4 percent, compared to about 15 percent nationally.

MassBudget credited the state's landmark health care law, which mandated that indivdiduals get coverage and offered state help for those who couldn't afford it. It noted that when the health reform legislation took effect in April 2006, about 9.8 percent of the commonwealth's population did not have health insurance.

Many of the proposals that Obama supports are modeled, at least in part, on the Massachusetts law.

Obama also praised America's nurses for their compassion and skill, noting their care for his daughters Malia and Sasha and for his mother and grandmother in their final days. "I love nurses," he said. "You're the bedrock of our medical profession."

(His full remarks are below.)

He also plans a series of rallies across the country, starting Saturday in Minneapolis, to put more pressure on Congress.

Vice President Joe Biden, making the rounds of morning new shows, predicted that the bill will be done by Thanksgiving, thanks to an emerging bipartisan consensus and the impact of Obama's speech to Congress.

The president "re-centered" the debate and "also debunked a lot of the myths out there, the idea of death panels, that we were going to insure undocumented aliens," Biden said.

Republicans remain unimpressed and unmoved.

“We appreciated having the President here last night. Unfortunately, what the American people got wasn’t a new health care plan, it was just another lecture. He had a chance to really put the government-run plan to bed, but unfortunately he didn’t do it. … When it’s all said and done; when you listen to the President’s speech and thought about it, there was nothing new in the President’s speech last night,” said Representative John Boehner, the top House Republican.

At a Capitol Hill news conference this afternoon, Boehner disputed some of Obama's key assertions. He told reporters that the Democratic bill could force people to change their insurance plans, could offer access to illegal immigrants, and could slash Medicare benefits.

And, Boehner asserted, Americans are angry and worried about sweeping changes to their health care.

Congress, he said, can find "common ground on sensible changes" to the existing system.

UPDATE: Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele followed up this afternoon with an email to supporters urging them to send a "Declaration of Independence" electronic postcard to Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress.

"Once again, President Obama stepped in front of the prime time TV cameras to attempt to sell the Democrats' leftist health care scheme to legislators and anyone else who might still be paying attention," Steele wrote in the fund-raising solicitation. "The charm offensive isn't working. Americans no longer feel the need to give Barack Obama the benefit of the doubt.

"They have seen through the hype and media adoration to understand that the Obama Democrats are determined to push their far-left agenda on our country whether the American people like it or not," Steele added.

"You can feel the rising mood of freedom-loving Americans across this country. Not afraid, but incensed and determined, that their government not be a menace to our hard-earned liberty and prosperity. They are extremely concerned that the President and his congressional allies are launching an unprecedented assault against the principles upon which America was built."

President Obama is willing to let bygones be bygones, and so is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

But at least one member of Congress wants Representative Joe Wilson censured for yelling at the president "You lie!" during his health care speech Wednesday night.

Wilson, a South Carolina Republican, quickly apologized for his outburst, which stunned colleagues, prompted boos from some Democrats, and caused Obama to respond by saying "It's not true."

"This evening I let my emotions get the best of me," he said in a statement. "While I disagree with the president's statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the president for this lack of civility."

But Wilson stood by the subject for his shout, which he described today as "spontaneous" -- the assertion that illegal immigrants could benefit from the health care overhaul.

Even so, Obama told reporters today that he accepted Wilson's apology.

"Yes, I do," he said after a cabinet meeting. "I'm a big believer that we all make mistakes. He apologized quickly and without equivocation, and I'm appreciative of that.

"I do think that, as I said last night, we have to get to the point where we can have a conversation about big, important issues that matter to the American people without vitriol, without name-calling, without the assumption of the worst in other people's motives.

"We are all Americans; we all want to do best for our country," Obama added. We've got different ideas, but for the most part, we have the same aims, which is to make sure that people who work hard in this country and who act responsibly are able to get good jobs, good wages, raise their families, make sure those kids have a good education; that they are protected from misfortune or accident by having health care and retirement security in place....Our goals are generally the same, whether we're Democrats or Republicans, and in fact, most Americans don't even think about those labels all that much. They are turned off when they see people using wild accusations, false claims, name-calling, sharply ideological approaches to solve problems. They want pragmatism; they want people to stay focused on the job. And I hope that some of the fever breaks a little bit."

Pelosi also told reporters that she's not interested in sanctioning Wilson. "As far as I'm concerned, the episode was unfortunate. Mr. Wilson has apologized. It's time for us to talk about health care and not Mr. Wilson," she said today.

But according to the Washington Post, Senator Arlen Specter, the Republican-turned-Democrat from Pennsylvania, tweeted, "Rep. Wilson apologized immediately afterward but I don't think that's adequate. There ought to be a reprimand or censure of Rep. Joe Wilson to discourage that kind of conduct in the future."

President Obama's economists asserted today that the economic stimulus package he championed had created or saved "slightly more" than 1 million jobs so far.

The White House Council on Economic Advisers said that the $787 billion stimulus bill has had "particularly strong effects in manufacturing, construction, retail trade, and temporary employment services." While the benefits have been spread across the country, states most hurt by the recession have been helped most, it said.

The council also said that about $151 billion has been spent so far, and that the stimulus added 2.3 percentages to the real growth of the economy during the second quarter. (Click here to read the report.)

The council's first quarterly report to Congress on the stimulus represents the latest salvo in the war of statistics on the $787 billion stimulus bill.

Obama promised it would create or save 3.5 million jobs by the end of next year. But critics have questioned the figures as far too rosy and said that it is extremely difficult to determine whether a job has been "saved."

The administration has acknowledged that the recession was deeper than it believed when it pushed Congress to pass the plan in January. Unemployment is still hovering near 10 percent nationally, and the Labor Department reported last week that since the recession began in December 2007, the jobless rolls grew by 7.4 million Americans.

Republicans kept up their stimulus skepticism in response to the council's report.

“Today’s White House jobs report is one more example of this administration’s use of smoke and mirrors to mask the failure of the Democrats’ costly $787 billion stimulus bill," Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said in a statement.

"The reality for countless Americans whose jobs have not been ‘saved’ is they get to join the ranks of the three million neighbors, friends and family members who have become unemployed since President Obama took office," he added. "We have watched the unemployment rate increase to 9.7 percent and seen more than 216,000 workers lose their jobs in the past 30 days. The president’s economic stimulus experiment clearly isn’t working as promised. Another report to claim phantom jobs have been ‘saved or created’ won’t convince people otherwise.”

President Obama tried tonight to thread the proverbial political needle on health care: keep enough liberals on board to pass a bill, reach out to moderates and even some Republicans -- and all the while convince an increasingly skeptical public that an overhaul would make their medical care better and less expensive, not worse and more costly.

Delivering a nationally televised, high-stakes speech on his top domestic priority to a joint session of Congress, Obama laid down his markers for what he wants in a bill and to say he will accept ideas from Republicans as well as Democrats -- as long as a bill gets done.

"I am not the first president to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last," he said, drawing a standing ovation from lawmakers.

"Our collective failure to meet this challenge – year after year, decade after decade – has led us to a breaking point," he added. "Everyone understands the extraordinary hardships that are placed on the uninsured, who live every day just one accident or illness away from bankruptcy. These are not primarily people on welfare. These are middle-class Americans. Some can’t get insurance on the job. Others are self-employed, and can’t afford it, since buying insurance on your own costs you three times as much as the coverage you get from your employer. Many other Americans who are willing and able to pay are still denied insurance due to previous illnesses or conditions that insurance companies decide are too risky or expensive to cover. We are the only democracy, the only advanced democracy on Earth -- the only wealthy nation -- that allows such hardships for millions of its people."

"The time for bickering is over," Obama declared. "The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action. Now is when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together, and show the American people that we can still do what we were sent here to do. Now is the time to deliver on health care."

"The plan I’m announcing tonight would meet three basic goals: It will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance. It will provide insurance to those who don’t. And it will slow the growth of health care costs for our families, our businesses, and our government. It’s a plan that asks everyone to take responsibility for meeting this challenge – not just government and insurance companies, but everybody, including employers and individuals. And it’s a plan that incorporates ideas from senators and congressmen; from Democrats and Republicans – and yes, from some of my opponents in both the primary and general election."

Obama repeated his proposals to ban insurers from denying coverage based on preexisting conditions, to limit out of pocket expenses, and to require insurance companies to cover routine checkups. He also calls for a new exchange where individuals and small businesses can buy affordable coverage.

Obama disputed "bogus claims" by those trying to kill reform that there would be "death panels" of bureaucrats who would decide end-of-life care, that illegal immigrants would receive benefits, and there would be a government takeover of health care.

On one of the most controversial issues -- the so-called public option, a government-run plan along the lines of Medicare, Obama said it was only one part of his plan and "only a means" to the end of creating needed competition to private insurers to hold down costs and improve policies -- "and we should remain open to other ideas that accomplish our ultimate goal."

"Let me be clear – it would only be an option for those who don’t have insurance. No one would be forced to choose it; it would not impact those of you who already have insurance," he said.

Trying to appeal to Republicans, he said while he does not believe that medical malpractice reform is "a silver bullet," "I have talked to enough doctors to know that defensive medicine may be contributing to unnecessary costs" and he's willing to "move forward on a range of ideas about how to put patient safety first and let doctors focus on practicing medicine."

While he said he'll work toward a bipartisan deal, Obama also warned that his patience has a limit.

"I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it’s better politics to kill this plan than improve it," he said. "I won't stand by while the special interests use the same old tactics to keep things exactly the way they are. If you misrepresent what's in this plan, we will call you out. And I will not accept the status quo as a solution. Not this time. Not now.

"Everyone in this room knows what will happen if we do nothing. Our deficit will grow. More families will go bankrupt. More businesses will close. More Americans will lose their coverage when they are sick and need it most. And more will die as a result. We know these things to be true. That is why we cannot fail. Because there are too many Americans counting on us to succeed – the ones who suffer silently, and the ones who shared their stories with us at town halls, in emails, and in letters."

Obama called on Edward M. Kennedy's legacy and memory as part of his call to action on health care, especially for bipartisan cooperation for the greater American good.

He said one of the letters he had received recently was from Kennedy, in which the late senator "expressed confidence that this would be the year that health care reform – 'that great unfinished business of our society,' would finally pass. He repeated the truth that health care is decisive for our future prosperity, but he also reminded me that 'it concerns more than material things.' 'What we face,' he wrote, 'is above all a moral issue; at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country.' ”

"I’ve thought about that phrase quite a bit in recent days – the character of our country," Obama said.

"On issues like these, Ted Kennedy’s passion was born not of some rigid ideology, but of his own experience. It was the experience of having two children stricken with cancer. He never forgot the sheer terror and helplessness that any parent feels when a child is badly sick; and he was able to imagine what it must be like for those without insurance; what it would be like to have to say to a wife or a child or an aging parent – there is something that could make you better, but I just can’t afford it.

"That large-heartedness -- that concern and regard for the plight of others -- is not a partisan feeling. It is not a Republican or a Democratic feeling. It, too, is part of the American character. Our ability to stand in other people’s shoes. A recognition that we are all in this together; that when fortune turns against one of us, others are there to lend a helping hand. A belief that in this country, hard work and responsibility should be rewarded by some measure of security and fair play; and an acknowledgement that sometimes government has to step in to help deliver on that promise."

(His full remarks are below.)

The official Republican response came from Representative Charles Boustany Jr. of Louisiana, a former heart surgeon.

In excerpts released in advance by House Republicans, Boustany said that "Republicans are pleased that President Obama came to the Capitol tonight. We agree much needs to be done to lower the cost of health care for all Americans. On that goal, Republicans are ready -- and we’ve been ready -– to work with the President for common-sense reforms that our nation can afford.”

But Boustany also said it's time to start over, not cobble together the bills already passed by Democratic-controlled committees in the House and Senate.

“It’s clear the American people want health care reform, but they want their elected leaders to get it right," he plans to say. "Most Americans wanted to hear the President tell Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid and the rest of Congress that it’s time to start over on a common-sense, bipartisan plan focused on lowering the cost of health care while improving quality. That’s what I heard over the past several months in talking to thousands of my constituents. Replacing your family’s current health care with government-run health care is not the answer. In fact, it’ll make health care much more expensive.”

Boustany repeated the Republican assertion that the Democratic bill would mean bigger government and higher taxes, saying that it " creates 53 new government bureaucracies, adds hundreds of billions to our national debt, and raises taxes on job-creators by $600 billion. And, it cuts Medicare by 500 billion dollars, while doing virtually nothing to make the program better for our seniors.”

(His full prepared remarks are below.)

Democrats spent much of today trying to trash Boustany, pointing out that at one point he seemed to support the "birther" movement that questioned whether Obama was born in Hawaii (despite a verified birth certificate) and thus ineligible to be president, that he supported end-of-life counseling (that have been mischaracterized as "death panels') and that he had been sued for malpractice (though not an unusually high number of times).

Senator Edward M. Kennedy didn't live to see an universal health care bill pass in Washington.

But when President Obama spoke tonight to Congress to plead with them to pass a bill, he was there in spirit.

President Obama called on Kennedy's legacy and memory as part of his call to action on health care, especially for bipartisan cooperation for the greater American good.

He said he had received a letter recently from Kennedy. "He had written it back in May, shortly after he was told that his illness was terminal. He asked that it be delivered upon his death.

"In it, he spoke about what a happy time his last months were, thanks to the love and support of family and friends, his wife, Vicki, and his amazing children who are all here tonight," Obama continued. "And he expressed confidence that this would be the year that health care reform – 'that great unfinished business of our society,' would finally pass. He repeated the truth that health care is decisive for our future prosperity, but he also reminded me that 'it concerns more than material things.' 'What we face,' he wrote, 'is above all a moral issue; at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country.' ”

"I’ve thought about that phrase quite a bit in recent days – the character of our country. One of the unique and wonderful things about America has always been our self-reliance, our rugged individualism, our fierce defense of freedom and our healthy skepticism of government. And figuring out the appropriate size and role of government has always been a source of rigorous and sometimes angry debate," the president said.

"For some of Ted Kennedy’s critics, his brand of liberalism represented an affront to American liberty. In their mind, his passion for universal health care was nothing more than a passion for big government. But those of us who knew Teddy and worked with him here -- people of both parties -- know that what drove him was something more. His friend, Orrin Hatch, knows that. They worked together to provide children with health insurance. His friend John McCain knows that. They worked together on a Patient’s Bill of Rights. His friend Chuck Grassley knows that. They worked together to provide health care to children with disabilities.

"On issues like these, Ted Kennedy’s passion was born not of some rigid ideology, but of his own experience. It was the experience of having two children stricken with cancer. He never forgot the sheer terror and helplessness that any parent feels when a child is badly sick; and he was able to imagine what it must be like for those without insurance; what it would be like to have to say to a wife or a child or an aging parent – there is something that could make you better, but I just can’t afford it.

"That large-heartedness -- that concern and regard for the plight of others -- is not a partisan feeling. It is not a Republican or a Democratic feeling. It, too, is part of the American character. Our ability to stand in other people’s shoes. A recognition that we are all in this together; that when fortune turns against one of us, others are there to lend a helping hand. A belief that in this country, hard work and responsibility should be rewarded by some measure of security and fair play; and an acknowledgement that sometimes government has to step in to help deliver on that promise."

UPDATE: Obama's senior adviser David Axelrod told the Globe that Victoria Reggie Kennedy called to say the senator had written the letter in May he wanted delivered to Obama after his death.

"The president read it and it became the basis of the closing" section of the speech that Obama wrote himself in longhand, Axelrod said in a brief interview. "It was something that moved him a lot."

The full letter is below.

Several of Kennedy's children and his widow were in places of honor in the House chamber.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced this afternoon that Congressman Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island would escort Obama to the well, then watch from the gallery.

Ted Kennedy, Jr., and Kara Kennedy and her two children, Grace and Max, will watch from the front row of the speaker's box.

Kennedy's widow, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, sat with First Lady Michelle Obama in her box.

Others invited for those primo seats are patients who illustrate the problems of health care and the benefits of an overhaul, along with doctors and other health professionals. Among the latter category is Dr. Wayne Myers, an organic farmer and pediatrician from Waldoboro, Maine, who the White House said "has been active in rural health care for many years" and "understands the health care challenges present in accessing care and affordable insurance in rural areas."

The full guest list is below:

President Obama reacted to his own speech by sending out an appeal tonight to the 13-million-strong email list of his grassroots group, Organizing for America.

"I just finished laying out my plan for health reform at a joint session of Congress. Now, I'm writing directly to you because what happens next is critical -- and I need your help," Obama wrote in the email. "Change this big will not happen because I ask for it. It can only come when the nation demands it. Congress knows where I stand. Now they need to hear from you."

"We've come closer to real health reform in the last few months than we have in the last 60 years. But those who profit from the status quo -- and those who put partisan advantage above all else -- will fight us every inch of the way," he added.

"We do not seek that fight, but we will not shrink from it. The stakes are too high to let scare tactics cloud the debate, or to allow partisan bickering to block the path. Your voice, right now, is essential."

UPDATE: In an instant CNN/Opinion Research poll, 56 percent of respondents said they had a "very positive" overall reaction to Obama's speech, and another 21 percent "somewhat positive," while 12 percent said "somewhat negative" and 9 percent "very negative."

Also, 70 percent said Obama's proposals would move the country in the right direction, up from 60 percent in a similar poll conducted Saturday through Tuesday, and 67 percent said they favored Obama's plan to reform health care, up from 53 percent before the speech.

The new poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points, and 18 percent of the respondents identified themselves as Republicans, 45 percent as Democrats, and 37 percent as independents.

Other reaction to his address to Congress divides, not suprisingly, along party lines.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele: “The president has proven his ability again to speak very well and say very little. He continued to try and sell his government-run health care experiment even though it will increase costs, increase taxes and increase the deficit. He said he wants to work with Republicans, but Nancy Pelosi and liberals in the House have opposed Republicans every step of the way. If the Democrats are serious about passing health care reform this year, they should stop pointing fingers and truly start working with Republicans to pass common-sense bipartisan health care reform that Americans want and deserve.”

Brad Dayspring, spokesman for Representative Eric Cantor, the second-ranking House Republican: “Tonight the President failed to say anything different or offer clear specifics, and with that in mind the reason for this overhyped speech is strangely unclear. The President has now delivered over 100 speeches where he’s discussed health care and said the same thing. He's held prime time press conferences, hosted television specials from the White House, and addressed a joint-session of Congress and only thing he’s made explicitly clear is that the status quo is unacceptable, a fact that we all agree on. While the President continues to blame unnamed special interests and Republicans, the fact is that the Democrats overwhelmingly control both the House and the Senate. The President and his party have failed to lead by offering reform that Americans are comfortable with. Families understand that a costly government-run plan will force them to pay more and get less.”

Senator John F. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat: “Tonight President Obama regained the initiative in a debate that must be won this year - not for a party, but for people who desperately need relief. This was a presidential moment and real presidential leadership. Americans need a real debate -- no more distortions, no more political games, no more scare tactics, it’s time for leaders everywhere to find the common ground to do what’s right for our country.
It won’t be easy, it will require tough decisions and hard-fought compromise, but letting another year go by without reforming health care is not an option. Now is the moment to achieve affordable insurance for those who don’t have it, stability for those who do, and cost controls for the businesses struggling to provide it to their workers.

"I was pleased to see the President made a compelling case for one of the ideas I’ve advanced on the Finance Committee – a meeting in the middle to control costs by placing an excise tax on insurers who offer high cost plans – a proposal that should be targeted to protect hard working Americans. Now we need to find Republicans willing to find those kinds of compromises for the greater good. That’s what our friend Ted Kennedy did at times like these, and there’s no greater action we can take now to honor his legacy than to deliver on the cause of his life.”

Representative Edward J. Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat: “Tonight the President offered a strong case for comprehensive health care reform, and I commend him on an excellent speech,” said Markey. “President Obama’s plan will offer stability and security for those with health insurance. No one should have to fight off a deadly disease while also fighting with their insurance company. The President’s plan puts a stop to denial of coverage based on a pre-existing condition and contains other vital reforms to protect Americans who already have coverage. President Obama’s plan also will finally enable the more than 45 million Americans without health insurance to get quality, affordable health coverage by creating a new insurance exchange where individuals and small businesses can shop for health insurance at competitive prices.

“We are now entering a new phase in the debate. Our current system is broken and in urgent need of an overhaul. Now is the time to heed the President’s call and pass comprehensive health care reform. The stakes are too high and the costs of inaction are too great to delay any longer.”

All sides are furiously trying to set expectations in advance of President Obama's big health care speech tonight to a joint session of Congress.

It's not clear how much the address, scheduled for 8 p.m. EDT, will be highlighted by new specifics -- or will be a more coherent restating of what the president wants in a health care overhaul.

Obama will "speak clearly to the American people about what's in health care reform; for those that are fortunate to have insurance, to demonstrate for them that his plan will bring them security and stability; and for those that don't have health insurance, that we'll provide an affordable way for them to get accessible insurance," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters on Air Force One as Obama headed to New York to speak at a memorial service for revered newsman Walter Cronkite.

On one of the most contentious issues, Obama will make his case for why he believes a government-run option is the best way to create more competition to private insurers, but he isn't expected to say he would veto a bill without it, a senior administration official told the Associated Press.

Obama, himself, in an interview aired today on ABC's "Good Morning America," offered few specifics, but did outline this preview of his address: "So, the intent of the speech on is to, A, make sure that the American people are clear exactly what it is that we are proposing. B, to make sure that Democrats and Republicans understand that I’m open to new ideas, that we’re not being rigid and ideological about this thing, but we do intend to get something done this year.”

The challenge facing Obama tonight -- as he tries to mollify liberals and not give up on a bipartisan deal -- was put in starker relief by a new poll out today.

The Associated Press-GfK survey says that 52 percent of Americans disapprove of Obama's handling of health care, up from 43 percent in July. The poll also shows that 49 percent disapprove of his overall job performance, an increase from 42 percent in July.

Also in the poll, 49 percent said they oppose the bills under consideration in Congress, while only 34 percent favor them, and respondents were evenly split over whether lawmakers should keep trying to pass a bill this year or start over again.

The survey, conducted Thursday through Tuesday, has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

UPDATE: Even before his speech, the White House announced this afternoon that Obama will take his health care pitch on the hustings.

He plans a "rally" -- not the town hall format he has been holding -- on Saturday in Minneapolis where he "will discuss what’s at stake for the American people in this debate – why we need health insurance reform and why we need to act now."

Republicans expect the president not to stake out much new ground tonight.

Representative John Boehner, the House GOP leader, said today the real question is whether Obama has been listening to the American public.

“I think the American people have made it pretty clear that they don’t really want another lecture, they want a new plan. They understand that we have a good system that works well for many people. Everybody understands that we’ve got problems in the current system that can be addressed. But to replace the entire current system with a big government-run plan is not what the American people want and certainly isn’t what I want.”

And the government-run public option isn't the only problem with the Democratic bills, Boehner said.

"It’s not the only bitter pill in their plan," he said. "They have a mandate on every employer to offer insurance and if they don’t there is a big tax. At a time when we are trying to create jobs this will make it more difficult to create jobs, and, as a matter of fact, probably cost our economy jobs. This $3,800 tax that has been proposed in one of the Democrat plans on individuals if you don’t buy health insurance is another non-starter. And so it really is time to stop, hit the reset button, and sit down in a bipartisan way and begin to deal with what we can deal with to help make our current health care system work better.”

Meanwhile, the American Medical Association issued an open letter to Obama and Congress urging them to reach a health care deal. "As our nation's elected leaders, you have an historic opportunity to improve the health and well-being of the American public," wrote J. James Rohack, the AMA's president. (Click here to read the letter.)

But it does not appear that the best hope for a bipartisan compromise will be in place before Obama speaks.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus had set a deadline of sorts of this morning for the "Gang of Six" to weigh in on his proposal, which would cost about $900 billion over 10 years, financed in part by new fees on insurers, drug companies and others in the industry, and does not include the public option.

But the key Republican in the negotiating group -- Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine -- is in no hurry to sign on to the Baucus plan before hearing from the president. "That's the cart before the horse, as they say in Maine," she said, according to the AP.

After Baucus met privately with Democrats on the committee, the chairman told reporters this afternoon that while he still hopes for a bipartisan deal, he will formally introduce his bill next week -- with or without Republican assent -- and have his panel debate it the week after that.

"I very much hope and do expect Republicans will be on board," he told reporters. "I don't know how many, but if there are not any, I will move forward anyway."

By Susan Milligan, Globe staff

WASHINGTON -- Representative Michael Capuano is definitely running for the US Senate seat vacated by the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, saying he is the only ``progressive'' in the current field who could continue the legendary senator's agenda.

``I'm doing it,'' Capuano told the Globe in an interview today off the House floor.

Capuano strongly signaled on Tuesday that he would run, obtaining his nomination papers and promising an announcement next week.

The Somerville Democrat said he wanted to ``make sure that my view of this is shared by others whose opinion I respect,'' and that ``so far, the answer seems to be a resounding yes.''

``At the moment, I'm the only progressive'' running for the seat, and the one best able to carry on Kennedy's liberal tradition in the Senate, he said.

Capuano described Attorney General Martha Coakley as ``the favorite'' in the Democratic primary, but said he has ``never been the favorite'' in his campaigns. With $1.2 million in his campaign chest, Capuano said he will have enough cash to run a strong campaign, but added that money would not decide the winner in the race.

``I want to be anointed. I don't think that will happen,'' he quipped.

In the game of musical chairs occasioned by the death of Edward M. Kennedy, Senator Christopher Dodd announced this afternoon that he will stay as chairman of the Banking Committee and not take over the health panel, where he had filled in for Kennedy during his illness.

Instead, Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa will move from Agriculture to the health committee. Harkin, as was Kennedy, is firmly in the liberal wing of the Democratic party.

Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas will rise to the chairmanship of Agriculture.

"We all had hoped that Teddy would be able to come back to see this through," Dodd said in a statement. "Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible. But I intend to keep the promise I made. And so, I am pleased that I will able to continue the role he asked me to take on as the HELP Committee’s leader on health care reform."

"But we have important work to do on the Banking Committee, and I intend to see it through as chairman. The Banking Committee is of vital importance to Connecticut, responsible for issues central to the economic security and prosperity of the people of my state."

Dodd's perch on Banking, where he will work on financial regulation overhaul with House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank of Massachusetts, will give him continued access to campaign cash in his tough reelection fight next year.

But it also got him in political hot water when critics accused him of getting too cozy to Wall Street during the meltdown.

Meanwhile, Service Employees International Union quickly applauded Harkin's move, saying that it is counting on his help to pass a health care bill, as well as a bill to make it easier for unions to organize, and an immigration overhaul.

"America’s working families have learned to count on Senator Harkin to stand up and fight for the issues that will help to ensure the American Dream is alive and well for their children and grandchildren. As the son of a coal miner, Senator Harkin understands how Congress and organized labor can work together to pass legislation that ensures quality and affordable healthcare, a fair economy, a safe workplace and a secure retirement," SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger said in a statement.

John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor federation, also praised the leadership changes.

"It is great news for America's workers that a longtime friend of working families is taking the helm at the Senate Labor Committee. Although no one can replace Senator Kennedy, Tom Harkin brings just the right balance of passion and skill to the job of protecting working men and women, educating our children and looking out for our health," Sweeney said in a statement.

"We are also pleased that Senator Dodd will stay on as Chair of the Banking Committee to continue the important work of cleaning up Wall Street and putting in place sensible regulations to make sure we do not have a repeat of the recent financial meltdown. Both Senators Harkin and Dodd face great challenges as they work to make meaningful progress on the issues that affect the lives of working people, and we look forward to working closely with both of them in the months and years ahead."

The idea of "death panels" -- hardhearted government bureaucrats who would decide when to pull the plug on terminally ill patients -- has been rather thoroughly debunked.

But former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin raises their specter again in an op-ed piece published in the Wall Street Journal today, on the eve of President Obama's much-anticipated health care speech.

"In an interview with the New York Times in April, the president suggested that such a group, working outside of 'normal political channels,' should guide decisions regarding that 'huge driver of cost . . . the chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives . . . .' Palin writes.

"Given such statements, is it any wonder that many of the sick and elderly are concerned that the Democrats' proposals will ultimately lead to rationing of their health care by—dare I say it—death panels? Establishment voices dismissed that phrase, but it rang true for many Americans. Working through 'normal political channels,' they made themselves heard, and as a result Congress will likely reject a wrong-headed proposal to authorize end-of-life counseling in this cost-cutting context. But the fact remains that the Democrats' proposals would still empower unelected bureaucrats to make decisions affecting life or death health-care matters."

After the firestorm of controversy over the "death panels" in Democratic bills, bipartisan negotiators on the Senate Finance Committee agreed to drop the end-of-life provision.

But the Democratic National Committee hit back this morning at Palin, last year's Republican vice presidential nominee.

“The way Sarah Palin is trying to scare Americans you'd think it's Halloween already," DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan said in a statement. "But, by continuing to peddle what Pulitzer Prize winning independent fact checkers have found to be ‘pants on fire’ lies and doubling down on the GOP recommendation to end Medicare for future generations, the only thing that's in costume here is Sarah Palin's supposed concern for the health care of Americans. What the American people find truly scary is that insurance rates have doubled this decade and continue to rise at a rate three times faster than their wages, and that rather than take on the insurance industry Republicans have become their biggest defenders. And what Sarah Palin should find truly scary is that her reputation as a serious leader can in fact sink even lower than it already has when she continues to stand by such outlandish claims.”

The rest of Palin's piece is far less controversial -- more of the Republican mantra that too much government would make health care worse, not better.

"Common sense tells us that the government's attempts to solve large problems more often create new ones. Common sense also tells us that a top-down, one-size-fits-all plan will not improve the workings of a nationwide health-care system that accounts for one-sixth of our economy. And common sense tells us to be skeptical when President Obama promises that the Democrats' proposals "will provide more stability and security to every American," Palin writes.

"With all due respect, Americans are used to this kind of sweeping promise from Washington. And we know from long experience that it's a promise Washington can't keep.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy's posthumously published memoir got all the ink last week, but he's not the only Massachusetts lawmaker profiled in a new book.

A biography of Representative Barney Frank is to be published this month by the University of Massachusetts Press.

In "Barney Frank: The Story of America's Only Left-Handed, Gay, Jewish Congressman," the Newton Democrat tells author Stuart Weisberg that a capstone to his political career would be to join President Obama's cabinet, USA Today reports on its political blog.

But he would only be interested in leading the Department of Housing and Urban Development (where the secretary is now Shaun Donovan, a former New York City housing commissioner) under certain conditions. "We are only partly there with affordable housing … I want at least two years with President Obama and a solidly Democratic Senate so that we can get the federal government back in the housing business," Frank says in the book.

The book is available for pre-order on Amazon.com ($19.77) and according to the jacket, Weisberg interviewed more than 150 people, including 30 hours with Frank, to capture the congressman in "all his quirkiness, irreverence, and complexity."

"Above all, this book shows Frank to be a superb legislator -- a pragmatic politician who had dedicated his career to an unabashedly liberal agenda and whose depth of intellect and sense of humor have made him one of the most influential and colorful figures in Washington," the blurb says.

President Obama's health care speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night has many of the trappings of a "State of Union" address, and perhaps more at stake with his top domestic priority in the lurch.

So the opposition party is treating it as such, announcing today that a doctor who is also a congressman will deliver the Republican response immediately afterwards.

Representative Charles Boustany of Louisiana has been tapped to make the speech. The GOP says that he has more than 20 years of medical experience and has long advocated for changes that lower health care costs and maintains the doctor-patient relationship.

“As a doctor, I know we must lower costs and improve care, which we can accomplish by focusing on strengthening the doctor-patient relationship and working in a bipartisan way,” he said in a statement. “Health care is a kitchen table issue that affects all Americans, and I believe we need an honest discussion about how we come together to fix what’s broken, while building on what works. That’s why I’m pleased the President will speak to Congress tomorrow night, and I look forward to presenting commonsense reforms that Republicans and all Americans can stand behind.”

“Dr. Boustany has been a tireless advocate for reform that lowers health care costs and expands access for the American people at a price our nation can afford,” Representative John Boehner, the top House Republican, said in a statement. “He understands why a Washington bureaucrat – as Democrats have proposed – should never get between a doctor and his patient. I’m pleased Charles has agreed to speak to the American people about a Republican vision for reform and the need for both parties to come together to craft a responsible proposal at a time when people across the country are focused on jobs.”

UPDATE: Health professionals, as a group, are the most generous donors to Boustany's campaigns. They gave him $240,250 for the 2008 election and $48,300 so far for the 2010 election, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said Boustany was a "fitting choice" for Republicans opposed to a health care overhaul, noting his votes against expanding the children's health insurance program and funding community health centers.

Boustany is a "credible voice for special interests, but not for hardworking Louisianians who struggle with health insurance companies,” Jessica Santillo, the southern regional spokeswoman for the DCCC, said in a statement. “Louisianians deserve an honest debate on how to rein in health cares costs, improve care, and increase access, not more of Congressman Boustany’s attempts to block solutions and protect the status quo.”

Also, the Republican National Committee plans to respond minute by minute to Obama's speech, announcing this afternoon a "live blog will offer 'real-time' fact-checking during President Obama's address concerning his proposed government-run health care experiment and how it will impact all generations of Americans."

Republicans use their Labor Day weekend radio-Internet address to try to pound it into Americans' heads that President Obama's health care plan would be a job killer that would balloon the federal deficit.

Obama, who plans to make his case before a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night, is being buffeted by liberals in his own party as well as Republican opponents on what he should insist be in a health care bill.

Representative John Kline of Minnesota talks about what he heard from constituents in the town halls he hosted during the August congressional recess.

"What I hear from them is what my colleagues are hearing from Americans all across this great nation -- a sense of uncertainty about the health care legislation moving through Congress like a runaway freight train. They ask: 'What will happen to my coverage, and my choice of doctors? Will I have to stand in line to receive treatment? Or get approval from someone in Washington before getting a knee replacement or filling a prescription for the latest diabetes medication?' " Kline says.

"Access to quality care and the comfort of a familiar physician isn’t the only thing on my constituents’ minds. With trillion dollar price tags becoming almost commonplace in Democrat-controlled Washington, American families are worried about what all this spending means for their jobs -- and their children -- and their children’s children.

With so many worries, Kline says it's time to start over -- and to try to draft a truly bipartisan bill.

"Democrats have crafted this legislation behind closed doors, creating a partisan blueprint that – at last count – clocked in at more than 1,000 pages. It’s complicated, it’s convoluted, and it’s quite simply not going to work.

"It’s time to press the ‘reset’ button," Kline says. "Health care reform doesn’t have to be a partisan battle. It doesn’t have to take away coverage from Americans who like what they have. It doesn't have to put federal bureaucrats in charge of what procedure is covered and what medication is not.

"Our goal must be to fix what’s broken in our health care system while preserving those features that work well. We can drive down costs without sacrificing quality. We can expand coverage without orchestrating a government takeover. And we can do all of these things without squeezing small businesses and destroying more jobs at a time when our economy needs them most."

His full address is below and can be viewed here.

Republicans have their senior's bill of rights, trying to win the elderly to their side in the health care debate.

Democrats retaliated this evening with a new TV ad that accuses the GOP of wanting to kill Medicare, the main government health program for seniors.

The Democratic National Committee cited a vote earlier this year in the House in which 137 Republicans voted for a budget proposal offered by the Republican leadership that the DNC says would have ended Medicare for Americans under age 55. Instead, the proposal called for younger workers to enroll in private plans and receive subsidies equal to the average Medicare benefit.

"Republicans want to end Medicare," the announcer says in the spot. "You heard right, Republicans actually voted to abolish Medicare for future generations -- one of the most important programs for seniors.

"America's seniors have relied on Medicare for over 40 years -- and Democrats are working to strengthen Medicare," the narrator continues, over images of smiling seniors. "But the plain truth is, Republicans have opposed Medicare from the start.

"Their leaders have called for cutting Medicare -- and now for killing it. The Republican Party -- no friend of seniors," the announcer concludes over photos of House Republican leader John Boehner and Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele.

The DNC says the ad will air on national cable in and in 10 the districts of 10 Republican members of Congress, including Boehner, his No. 2 Eric Cantor, and favorite liberal target Michele Bachmann of Minnesota.

In unveiling the seniors' bill of rights earlier this week, the RNC vowed to protect Medicare, which it asserted was in jeopardy under the proposals of President Obama and Democrats to find savings and efficiencies.

“Let’s agree in both parties that Congress should only consider health reform proposals that protect senior citizens,” Steele says in his ad. "For starters, no cuts to Medicare to pay for another program. Zero."

President Obama's grassroots group is bringing its health care overhaul push to Boston on Labor Day, with newly minted US Senate candidate Martha Coakley and a possible competitor, Representative Michael Capuano, featured at the rally.

Organizing for America announced this afternoon that the rally will be at 11 a.m. Monday at the Parkman Bandstand on Boston Common. It plans to present 30,000 declarations of support for Obama's proposals from Massachusetts residents to the Bay State congressional delegation.

"The rally will be an opportunity for supporters of reform to show their backing for President Obama’s principles for health insurance reform which have been simple and consistent -- reform will lower costs, protect choice and ensure all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care," the announcement said.

Besides Coakley, now Massachusetts attorney general, and Capuano, Representative John Tierney and leaders of the Service Employees International Union and Health Care for America Now! will attend.

Organizers said there will be a moment of silence for the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Coakley announced Thursday she is seeking the seat, and Capuano is also considering a run.

Organizing for America says it held more than 2,000 health care events during August, culminating in a two-week bus tour that ended Thursday and stopped in Phoenix, Albuquerque, Denver, Des Moines, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Charlotte.

Republicans immediately sought today to capitalize on the new unemployment numbers to press their argument that President Obama's economic stimulus package is failing.

The Labor Department reported today that the jobless rate rose to 9.7 percent last month from 9.4 percent in July after 216,000 more Americans lost their jobs. It is the highest rate since 1983, and analysts say it shows that while the economy is improving, a sustained recovery will be difficult at best.

UPDATE: Vice President Joe Biden, who on Thursday led the cheerleading for the $787 billion stimulus package, said this afternoon that the administration will not be satisfied until "we're adding, not losing, thousands of jobs a month."

He cited an analysis that the stimulus package saved or created at least 500,000 jobs in its first 200 days, a milestone that hits Saturday -- or in other words, that another 500,000 jobs would have been lost without the recovery package.

Biden spoke as he announced a $535 million loan guarantee for a Fremont, Calif., company that makes solar panels. “This announcement today is part of the unprecedented investment this Administration is making in renewable energy and exactly what the Recovery Act is all about,” Biden said in a statement. “By investing in the infrastructure and technology of the future, we are not only creating jobs today, but laying the foundation for long-term growth in the 21stcentury economy.”

But Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele beat him to the punch.

“Yesterday, Vice President Biden gave yet another speech to try to convince the American people that President Obama’s stimulus bill is creating the jobs he promised. In fact, Vice President Biden said that he believes the Administration has ‘met or exceeded’ their goal to create or save 600,000 jobs in the past 100 days. Today’s unemployment report proves that this Administration is ignoring reality," Steele said in a statement.

"The unemployment rate jumped to 9.7 percent. More than 216,000 Americans lost their jobs in the month of August alone. That means more than 3 million Americans have lost their jobs since the president took office. The president’s economic experiment simply isn’t working, and Americans shouldn’t expect his government-run health care experiment to work, either.”

Not a single House Republican voted for the stimulus bill, and Representative John Boehner, the GOP leader in the House, chimed in with his own statement that also tried to use the jobless numbers to continue his assault on Obama's health care overhaul plans.

"Where are the jobs? Approximately 2.4 million private-sector jobs have been destroyed since February 2009. In light of these numbers, it is more clear than ever that the President and the leaders of his party in Congress need to abandon their plans for a job-killing government takeover of health care and work with Republicans for a more responsible approach to health care reform. The Democrats' bloated 'stimulus' isn't working, and we can't afford another trillion-dollar mistake on the backs of our children and small businesses," Boehner said.

"It is increasingly clear that as a consequence of this administration's misguided policies, any economic recovery that lies ahead will be a jobless one hampered by massive new debt. This is not what the American people were promised; nor is it what they deserve. Better solutions were offered in good faith by Republicans but rejected by the Administration in favor of what has proven to be a trillion-dollar mistake. The Administration said its bloated 'stimulus' would create millions of jobs and keep the unemployment rate from going above 8 percent. Instead, unemployment has now soared to nearly 10 percent, millions of jobs have disappeared, and massive new debt has been needlessly piled on future generations," Boehner continued.

"Washington Democrats must listen to the American people and abandon their plans to impose a job-killing government takeover of health care and a new job-killing national energy tax. Both will inflict further harm on small businesses and wipe out millions of additional American jobs, compounding the costly mistake of the flawed 'stimulus.’ It’s time for the President to hit the reset button and work with Republicans for better solutions, before more debt is piled on our children and more American jobs are destroyed."

Democrats, ramping up their rebuttal to GOP attacks on health care, unveiled a web video today going after Representatives John Boehner and Michele Bachmann and commentators Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.

The video shows the critics repeating debunked claims, including that the health care bill would create death panels of bureaucrats who would decide who lives and dies, and using terms such as "communist" to describe the plan.

“Since Congressional Republicans and their right wing allies can’t win with the facts on health care, they’ve resorted to using fear, fiction, and scare tactics of the worst kind to shamelessly try and ‘kill’ health insurance reform,” Ryan Rudominer, spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement. “This new web video is just another way that we are exposing their lies and over-the-top rhetoric while empowering our grassroots supporters to hold them accountable for trying to deny families quality, affordable health care.”

The video is part of Democrats' strategy of advertising, phone calls, letters to the editor, fact checks, and telephone town halls in targeted Republican districts to try to regain momentum.

Republicans and other critics have taken the upper hand during the August congressional recess, one reason why President Obama plans to give an unusual "State of the Union"-like speech to a joint session of Congress next Wednesday to make his case for a health care overhaul.

President Obama will address a joint session of Congress next Wednesday as he tries to regain momentum on the health care debate.

With a bipartisan deal looking less likely and many Americans confused by the debate, the White House has been signaling that Obama will try to sharpen his message on what exactly he wants Congress to put in a health overhaul.

Obama has held a series of town halls, and a prime time news conference, but senior adviser David Axelrod said in a series of interviews late Tuesday and early today that the president was considering giving a major health care speech soon after he returns from his Camp David vacation and Congress reconvenes next week.

"We're entering a new season," Axelrod told CNN today. "It's time to synthesize and harmonize these strands and get this done."

So far, Obama has left the details of bill drafting to Democrats in Congress. But as the Globe reported today, Democrats are increasingly dismayed by Republican recalcitrance and are considering using the "nuclear option" of a parliamentary maneuver to ram through a health care bill with a simple majority in the Senate. And as the Globe reported last week, Obama has stepped on his own message at times.

A CBS News survey released Tuesday said that two in three respondents said they were confused by the proposals before Congress, and 60 percent said that Obama has not clearly explained his health proposals.

The address, scheduled for prime time Wednesday night, will be only Obama's second as president to a joint session of Congress. His first, in late February, amounted to his "State of the Union" address and focused on the financial crisis and deepening recession.

"The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation," Obama said then. "Those qualities that have made America the greatest force of progress and prosperity in human history we still possess in ample measure. What is required now is for this country to pull together, confront boldly the challenges we face, and take responsibility for our future once more."

While President Obama's poll numbers are dropping, it could be worse.

A national survey out today gives such low favorability marks to Congress that it's at its lowest mark in the 24-year history of the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

Only 37 percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of Congress, down from 50 percent in April, and 52 percent had an unfavorable view.

While the displeasure with Republicans (40 percent favorable) is still higher than for Democrats (48 percent favorable, the Democratic number has dropped 11 percentage points since April.

And Pew says there are warning signs for Democrats heading into the 2010 mid-term election.

"Voters are about evenly divided when asked how they would vote if the election for Congress were being held today," Pew says, with 45 percent saying they would vote for a Democratic candidate in their district, or lean Democratic, while 44 percent say they would vote for a Republican or lean Republican.

"At about this point four years ago, Democrats led in the generic congressional ballot by 52% to 40% and went on to win a majority of the popular vote and regain control of Congress the following November," Pew notes.

Most of the shift is among independents, who had overwhelmingly backed Democrats but now say they would back Republicans in their districts by 43 percent to 38 percent.

The poll, conducted Aug. 20-27, has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

The war of words and ads over health care has left most Americans confused, according to a new poll released today.

The CBS News survey found that two in three respondents -- including 69 percent of Republicans and 58 percent of Democrats -- call the proposals before Congress confusing, while only 31 percent said they have a clear understanding of the proposed changes.

Moreover, 60 percent of Americans say that President Obama has not clearly explained his health proposals, though he has held a series of town halls and other events. (Click here to see the entire poll.)

The at-times heated town hall meetings during the August congressional recess didn't help matters, and 49 percent of those who said they heard of the sessions said angry protestors featured on cable TV did not reflect the views of most Americans.

Not surprisingly, there was a partisan division, with 66 percent of Republicans saying the protestors did speak for most of the public, but 73 percent of Democratic respondents said they did not.

The poll, conducted Thursday through Monday, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Republicans immediately jumped on the poll findings. "Over a month ago, President Obama changed his message from 'health care reform' to 'health insurance reform.' Though the message changed, the underlying product didn’t," Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for Representative Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, said in a statement. "New polling from CBS shows that the American people weren’t fooled."

The truce during the mourning for Senator Edward M. Kennedy is a memory, Congress returns to work in a week, and the calendar has turned to September.

So it's time to rejoin the battle over the health care overhaul.

Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, the top Republican on the Budget Committee, is warning that he has lots of objections ready if Democrats try to push a health care bill through the Senate with a simple majority.

Democrats might need to resort to the procedural maneuver, known as reconciliation, because with Kennedy's seat vacant, they control 59 votes -- one shy of what is needed to overcome potential filibusters.

Gregg told The Hill newspaper in an article published online today that Republicans could file "hundreds" of points of order objections, each one requiring 60 votes to overcome.

"We are very much engaged in taking a hard look at our rights under reconciliation," Gregg told The HiIl. "It would be very contentious."

The Republican National Committee this morning unveiled a new TV ad that promotes its "seniors' bill of rights" for any health care changes -- aiming squarely at a constituency worried what reform would bring and at a voting bloc least supportive of President Obama.

“Let’s agree in both parties that Congress should only consider health reform proposals that protect senior citizens,” RNC Chairman Michael Steele says in the ad. "For starters, no cuts to Medicare to pay for another program. Zero.

"Make it illegal to ration health care based on age,” he continues. "Prevent any government role in end-of-life care. And stop bureaucrats from getting between seniors and their doctors. A few things we should all agree on. The Seniors’ Bill of Rights. Stand with us and stand with senior citizens. After all, they’ve earned it.”

Democrats, however, point out that Steele has seemingly contradicted himself in recent days over whether he supports savings (or cuts, according to critics) in Medicare -- the government health program for seniors -- to help bring health spending under control.

Democrats also note that the AARP declared that “nothing in the bills that have been proposed would bring about the scenarios the RNC is concerned about.”

"Michael Steele and the Republicans are unbelievable," Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse said in a statement today responding to the RNC ad. "After failing to stop the President on the Recovery Act, the budget, equal pay for women and children's health care, Republicans have decided that they have no other choice when it comes to blocking health insurance reform than to lie to the American people and try to scare seniors - all in their admitted effort to 'break' the President on this issue and 'kill' reform for political gain.

"The RNC's 'Senior's Bill Of Rights' is nothing more than a scare tactic built on a foundation of lies about the effort to reform health insurance. Which begs the question, why can't Republicans debate health insurance reform on the merits instead of making stuff up out of whole cloth? Because they know the crux of what President Obama has proposed -- lowering costs, preserving choice, expanding access and reversing decades of unfair insurance industry practices -- is popular with the American people and they don't stand a chance of blocking reform if they deal with the issue honestly."

Democrats -- in the form of President Obama's grassroots group Organizing for America -- are continuing their "Health Insurance Reform Now: Let’s Get it Done!" bus tour today in Columbus, Ohio, and Wednesday in Pittsburgh. The events, in part, are designed to hammer home the message of Obama's eight health "guarantees" for Americans who already have health insurance: "1) no discrimination for pre-existing conditions, 2) no exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles, or co-pays, 3) no cost-sharing for preventive care, 4) no dropping of coverage for the seriously ill, 5) no gender discrimination, 6) no annual or lifetime caps on coverage, 7) extended coverage for young adults, and 8) guaranteed insurance renewal."

President Obama, in a message overnight to his 13 million-strong grassroots group, said that Senator Edward M. Kennedy "a true leader who challenged us all to live out our noblest values."

"I personally valued his wise counsel in the Senate, where, regardless of the swirl of events, he always had time for a new colleague. I cherished his confidence and momentous support in my race for the Presidency. And even as he waged a valiant struggle with a mortal illness, I've benefited as President from his encouragement and wisdom," Obama added in his message to members of Organizing for America. (His full message is below.)

Obama did not mention the issue that he and Kennedy were most closely working on in the months before his death and that his grassroots group is now crusading on -- a health care overhaul.

But Vice President Joe Biden says that Kennedy's death -- and the outpouring of tributes -- could break the partisan gridlock on Capitol Hill.

"God willing maybe his loss and all about him will be the catalyst to make people come around and, you know, begin to compromise to get something done," Biden said in an interview aired this morning on NBC's "Today" show.

The vice president, however, also acknowledged that the impact could go the other way -- that Kennedy's absence will make a bipartisan deal even more difficult. Several key Republicans, including last year's presidential nominee, Senator John McCain, have argued in recent days that a health care deal would be closer if Kennedy had been in the Senate the last few months.

Biden said that Kennedy's attitude and persistence should be an example.

"Everything was about possibilities. I never, ever, ever in 36 years of being with him ever saw him down in terms of, 'We can't get this done,' 'things aren't going to get any better,' 'the deficit's too big,' 'we can't get this passed' -- never, never, never," Biden said.

"I watched him on the renewal of the civil rights legislation. I watched him on hate crimes legislation. I watched him go back at it and go back at it, and I watched him change people's minds."

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said today that Kennedy's death would "make things more difficult" on health care legislation, MSNBC reports.

Asked about the possibility of naming the bill in Kennedy's honor, she said that would be an appropriate tribute, but said "it would be best to pass health care."

But conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh took a decidedly different stance.

"Placing [Kennedy’s] name on a health-care bill, in memoriam, or using his name as a sympathy ploy to advance a health care bill that would deny Americans the choices Senator Kennedy had is an insult and is supreme hypocrisy,” he said on his show Wednesday. "The senator's passing is going to give them the opportunity to use the sympathy play to get as much done in his name as possible."

Meanwhile, a second group opposing Democrats' health care plan announced today it is withdrawing its TV ads out of respect for Kennedy.

The Associated Press reports that the US Chamber of Commerce said it is suspending its $7.5 million, 21-state campaign, which criticizes the government-run coverage that many Democrats favor, until early next week.

On Wednesday, Conservatives for Patients Rights also said it was temporarily halting its ads, including one running in the Boston area that was aimed at Obama vacationing on Martha's Vineyard.

UPDATE: Asked today about how President Obama looks at some liberal groups' "win one for Kennedy" push on health care, White House spokesman Bill Burton replied, "Our country lost a beloved leader and the politics and implications of that are the last thing on the president's mind right now."

Pressed on whether Kennedy's death is being used in a "political way," Burton said, "We've all experienced a pretty big loss and Americans are going to have different reactions and find different ways to memorialize his life. [The president]'s not going to make a comment on what every single person does to memorialize or remember or talk about Senator Kennedy and his passing. There will be a time when it's appropriate to have discussions on different ramifications, but I don't think anybody thinks that now is it."

The White House, issuing its new budget deficit projection this morning, said the numbers look better in the short term but worse in the long run.

Budget Director Peter Orszag said that the deficit for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 is now projected to be $1.58 trillion -- or 11.2 percent of gross domestic product -- down $262 billion from a previously projected $1.84 trillion or 12.9 percent of GDP. That's still an all-time record by far.

And the red ink looks worse in the next decade because of updated economic data that show that "we inherited a deeper recession than projected in February," Orszag wrote in his message. (Read it here.)  

The White House is projecting that the deficit for 2010-2019 will be $2 trillion higher than it forecast in February, now an eye-popping $9.05 trillion.

"During an economic downturn, one wants to allow the deficit to increase, so deficit reduction should be focused on the out-years -- after the economy has recovered," Orszag writes. "That said, the out-year deficits hover in the range of 4 percent of GDP, which is higher than desirable. Getting the out-year deficit under control is a top priority of the Administration."

Republicans are accusing the administration of fudging the numbers to make the deficit appear smaller for the current year, largely by changing assumptions about the costs of the financial bailout.

"Let’s be clear, this is spin and nothing more," economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin wrote in a memo to House GOP Leader John Boehner. "The lower estimate is strictly the result of the Administration massaging their budget assumptions, not reality. The reality is, putting these gimmicks aside, that the FY 2009 deficit is larger. And, even the Obama Administration will have to admit that the deficit for every year after 2009 is even worse than they admitted earlier this year. (Read his memo here.)

But the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office put out is own figures this morning, and they closely track the White House's in the short term and are actually lower in the long term.

The CBO estimated that the deficit will be $1.59 trillion in fiscal 2009 and $1.38 trillion in fiscal 2010 as the economy recovers. It also lowered its projection of the 10-year budget deficit to $7.14 trillion.

One reason for the CBO's lower 10-year number: It assumes that the tax cuts put into place by the Bush administration will expire as scheduled by 2011, but Obama's projection keeps the tax cuts for families earning less than $250,000 a year.

Republicans are also warning that Obama's agenda will mean even higher deficits, threatening to bankrupt the country.

"The mushrooming federal debt poses a grave danger to America’s prosperity, threatening to plunge our economy and future generations into the abyss of stagnant growth and national decline. But given the reckless way the administration is spending your money, you’d never know that the debt is a cause for concern. Staggering sums of money have been tossed around so casually that the very notion of dishing out 'trillions' of dollars is no longer a shock to many in Washington," Representative Eric Cantor, the No. 2 House Republican, writes in an op-ed for Politico.

American can't afford Obama's health care plan, estimated to cost $1 trillion over the next 10 years, Cantor argues.

"In this economy, as families review their own budgets and adjust accordingly, they expect their government to act in a manner that reflects the challenging times we are in. Much of the public frustration with Washington has been evident in town halls across the country, and many Americans believe the administration’s top priority should be cutting the federal deficit in half by the end of his first term," Cantor writes.

"Instead, the administration seeks to force a massive new government health care program that most people don’t want and certainly cannot afford. And they will do so even if it means imposing new taxes on the middle class and small business job creators. Now is not the time to double down on a deficit that is $2 trillion more than the administration projected, but instead to moderate spending, and move forward responsibly."

Boehner added his criticism in a statement:

“Today’s reports confirm what the White House has been trying to hide: the Democrats’ out-of-control spending binge is burying our children and grandchildren under a mountain of unsustainable debt. Instead of putting the brakes on Washington’s spending habits as they promised they’d do, Democrats have stepped on the accelerator and spent taxpayer dollars with reckless abandon all year, refusing to make tough choices and putting all the sacrifice on future generations. That’s not leadership; it’s negligence.

“The costly government-run health care plan put forth by President Obama and Speaker Pelosi is just the latest in a long line of expensive Democratic experiments that will add to the deficit, raise taxes on families and small businesses, and cost more American jobs. It’s time for the Administration and congressional Democrats to face the consequences of this dangerous fiscal agenda and change course."

UPDATE: Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, however, blamed the Bush administration for running up the deficits and following policies that led to the need for costly rescue measures, including the $787 billion economic stimulus package that passed without a single Republican vote in the House.

"Today's deficit projections are a legacy of Bush Administration fiscal policies that turned our surpluses into deficits and led the way toward an economic and financial crisis that has required historic short-term intervention. If pay-as-you-go principles had been in place for the last 8 years, this deficit would be $5 trillion smaller over the next decade," she said in a statement.

"We are working with President Obama to restore fiscal responsibility and to ensure that statutory pay-go, already passed by the House, is signed into law. Under President Obama's leadership, we have ended the Bush-era practice of hiding the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- gimmicks and accounting tricks that have no place in our budget process. And working with the President, Congress has laid out a budget blueprint that reduces our deficit, lays a new foundation for job creation and economic growth, and invests in more broadly shared prosperity for all Americans. "But we cannot reduce the deficit in the long-term without getting health care costs under control. Nor can health care reform add to the challenge. That is why our health insurance reform is fully paid for and will not increase the deficit.

"These deficit projections send a clear message: fiscal discipline must be the order of the day as we come out of this recession. Our economic recovery efforts are starting to pay dividends for America's families. Today's announcement that consumer confidence and home prices are on the rise represent new signs that our economy is moving in the right direction. And now, we must remain on-track to tackle our fiscal challenges, advance policies to promote job growth, reinforce the foundation of our prosperity, and return the United States to the days of financial stability."

In their latest assault on President Obama's health care plans, Republicans are aiming for a vulnerable spot -- the fears of seniors that their care will get worse or more costly.

"Republicans want reform that should, first, do no harm, especially to our seniors," Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele writes in an opinion piece in today's Washington Post. "That is why Republicans support a Seniors' Health Care Bill of Rights, which we are introducing today, to ensure that our greatest generation will receive access to quality health care. We also believe that any health-care reform should be fully paid for, but not funded on the backs of our nation's senior citizens."

The bill of rights for seniors includes protecting Medicare from major cuts, preserving the doctor-patient relationship, banning any rationing of care or interference in end-of-life decisions, guaranteeing that seniors can keep their current coverage, and protecting current veterans' health care programs.

Obama and Democrats plan on substantial savings in Medicare, but insist that those changes would not mean less care. They also support more research to determine the most cost-effective treatments, but adamantly deny that would lead to rationing of care -- which they argue is being done by private insurers already.

"Barack Obama campaigned on 'post-partisanship,' " Steele concludes. "As president, however, Obama has shown that he is beholden to his party's left-wing ideologues. It's not too late for him to honor his pledges for bipartisan health-care reform. Reversing course and joining Republicans in support of health care for our nation's senior citizens is a good place to start. Doing so will help him restart the reform process to give Americans access to low-cost, high-quality health care." (Read his full op-ed here.)

The Democratic National Committee responded by saying that the health overhaul would help seniors by holding down costs and closing the so-called donut hole in prescription drug coverage under Medicare Part D. It also said that Republicans are continuing to mislead the public in their attempt to kill the overhaul.

“It should be no surprise that the Republican Party - which whipped many Americans into a frenzy at town hall meetings on health care this month by spreading one lie about reform after another - has now taken to scaring seniors who have nothing to fear and much to gain from reform," DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse said in a statement. "But what's really incredible is that this feigned interest in Medicare and the plight of seniors is coming from the Republican Party -- the very party which opposed Social Security and only four years ago tried to dismantle it -- and the very Republican Party which opposed the creation of Medicare to begin with. Republicans are fighting against reform for one reason - to 'break' President Obama and gain political advantage. As a result, when it comes to their arguments against reform -- for Republicans it's any port in a storm.”

He may be on vacation, but through the magic of prerecorded video and audio, President Obama is keeping up his health care campaign today.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama both tries to debunk what he calls "outrageous myths" and seeks to rally support.

Taking on his critics, he says that while he welcomes a vigorous debate, "it also should be an honest debate, not one dominated by willful misrepresentations and outright distortions, spread by the very folks who would benefit the most by keeping things exactly as they are."

In the Republican response, Representative Tom Price of Georgia, a doctor by trade, says while that the status quo on health care is unacceptable, giving the government too much control -- represented by the "one-size-fits-all approach" of Obama and congressional Democrats -- would make the situation worse.
"Now whether it’s the government choosing what should be in your family’s health care plan, or a bureaucratic board deciding what treatments are appropriate and who should receive them, the president’s plan is a 1,000-page expression supporting the notion that Washington knows best when it comes to your family’s health care," Price says. "And that’s simply not true."

Obama ticks off some false claims by opponents: "Let’s start with the false claim that illegal immigrants will get health insurance under reform. That’s not true. Illegal immigrants would not be covered. That idea has never even been on the table. Some are also saying that coverage for abortions would be mandated under reform. Also false. When it comes to the current ban on using tax dollars for abortions, nothing will change under reform. And as every credible person who has looked into it has said, there are no so-called 'death panels' -- an offensive notion to me and to the American people. These are phony claims meant to divide us.

Obama also says he does not support a "government takeover" of health care, and tries to clarify the "public option" -- a government plan along the lines of Medicare to compete with private insurers. "It would be just an option; those who prefer their private insurer would be under no obligation to shift to a public plan," he says.

The president, who has used his weekly address to state his case on health care for more than a month now, then goes on to list the help that he wants to give people who already have insurance, including protections from being denied coverage for preexisting coverage and being charged exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses.

"Taken together, the reforms we’re seeking will help bring down skyrocketing costs, which will mean real savings for families, businesses, and government," he says, trying to rally more support.

"It has never been easy, moving this nation forward. There are always those who oppose it, and those who use fear to block change. But what has always distinguished America is that when all the arguments have been heard, and all the concerns have been voiced, and the time comes to do what must be done, we rise above our differences, grasp each others’ hands, and march forward as one nation and one people, some of us Democrats, some of us Republicans, all of us Americans," Obama adds, perhaps somewhat more hopefully than realistically.

In rebuttal, Price says that as opposition to Obama's plan has grown, the president says he wants to "stamp out some of the disinformation floating around out there.

"The problem is the president, himself, plays fast and loose with the facts," Price says." So as someone who’s taken care of patients, I’d like to take a moment to clear up a couple of the President’s worst offenses."

He asserts that while Obama says Americans can keep their insurance plan, a provision in the bill would require every plan within five years to meet new guidelines "that your current plan might not match, even if you like it."

Price also says that a public option plan, "when the government is setting the rules and is backed by tax dollars," will "destroy – not compete – with the private sector.
"But perhaps the most striking misinformation the president has put forth is that there are only two options out there for America -- that it's his way or the highway. That it's either the government running the show -- or insurance companies. The truth is there is a third way -- a better way, a patient-centered way to reform health care," Price says.
And Republicans are offering that approach, he says: "We have plans to increase coverage and lower costs without putting a bureaucrat between you and your doctor.  We believe that what’s good for patients is good for American health care."

Obama's full address can be viewed here and is below.

Price's full address can be viewed here and is below.

Would President Obama's health care push be going more smoothly if his first choice for health reform czar was working for it?

It's a Washington parlor game hypothetical, but it's also interesting that the last person that Obama talked to today on the topic before starting his 10-day vacation was Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader who was the nominee to be both health and human services secretary and health czar.

His nomination was derailed by tax issues, and Obama split the job between Kathleen Sebelius as health secretary and Nancy DeParle as health czar. While accomplished in their own right, neither has the combination of congressional clout and political savvy Daschle possesses.

"The president invited Senator Daschle to the White House for a quick check-in on the health insurance reform process and to exchange views on the process moving forward," the White House said in a statement after today's private session.

"Senator Daschle is one of the foremost experts on health care and on the legislative process, and has been a friend and sounding-board for the President for several years. The two agreed that substantive reform that lowers costs, reforms the insurance industry, and expands coverage is too important to wait another year or another administration, and they agreed to stay in touch over the coming weeks and months as this critical effort moves forward.”

Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine and the two other Finance Committee Republicans in the "Gang of Six" trying to come up with a bipartisan health bill are under pressure from the right not to give away the store.

The conservative Club for Growth launched TV ads targeted at Snowe, Mike Enzi of Wyoming, and Charles Grassley of Iowa.

The spot notes the key role the three senators are playing. "There's no harm in talking," the announcer says.

But the announcer then warns that what Democrats are talking about includes a government-run health plan, bureaucrats deciding coverage, new regulations that would kill small business, and tax hikes.

"Tell Senator Snowe not to cave in to the liberals on health care," the announcer concludes.

The Gang of Six had a conference call Thursday night, and according to the Washington Post, they agreed to continue working toward a bill that could win support from the rank-and-file in both parties, despite increasing reports that Democrats and President Obama are prepared to go it alone, if need be.

The group agreed to talk again on Sept. 4, three days before Congress reconvenes after its August recess, the Post said.

If President Obama turns on the TV while on holiday on Martha's Vineyard, he likely won't escape attacks on his health care plan.

Conservatives for Patients' Rights, the group founded by former health executive Rick Scott that has helped organize protests at congressional town halls, is putting up a TV ad called "Surf's Up."

"The beach is nice this time of year," the announcer says over a seaside scene. "But while President Obama vacations, concerns mount about his health care plan."

The announcer criticizes the public option that Obama prefers -- a government plan like Medicare that would compete with private insurers -- and says it would lead to government-run health care, higher taxes, and higher deficits.

"Let's get on with real reform to lower costs and protect patients rights," the announcer concludes.

The group plans to spend $150,000 airing the spot in the Boston-area TV market, including on NESN during games next week between the Red Sox and Obama's beloved Chicago White Sox, CNN says.

A liberal-labor coalition is trying to turn the contretemps over "death panels" on its head with its latest TV ad that says the real death panels are the insurance company committees that deny coverage.

The ad from Americans United for Change, which it says will start airing next week, points out that opponents' claims that Democratic health bills would create committees of bureaucrats who would decide who would receive life-saving care have been widely debunked. (But a key negotiator in the Senate says it won't be in the bill because of the room for misinterpretation.)

"Unfortunately, there are real death panels in America," the announcer says.

Linda Peeno, a former medical director for both Humana Insurance and Blue Cross/Blue Shield, is shown testifying at a congressional hearing, "In the spring of 1987, as a physician, I denied a man a necessary operation that would have saved his life and thus caused his death…and I am haunted by the thousands of pieces of paper on which I have written that deadly word, 'denial.' "

"We need health insurance reform now," the announcer concludes.

“Conservative politicians and pundits will do anything to keep the 'death panels' fantasy alive and well as part of an unscrupulous and concerted effort to kill health insurance reform. But where’s the hysteria from these same conservatives over the real death panels that exist right now in America with the big insurance companies denying millions of Americans the care they need by citing 'pre-existing'’ conditions?” Jeremy Funk, Americans United for Change's communications director, said in a statement today.

It is among the groups supporting President Obama and congressional Democrats in their health overhaul push -- and fighting Republican and conservative groups running ads and organizing protests as members of Congress hear from their constitutents during the August recess.

President Obama is making his health care pitch today to two very different audiences -- one friendly, one not so much.

Obama is on the air with Philadelphia-based talk radio host Michael Smerconish, who is broadcasting his program from the Diplomatic Room in the White House. Smerconish's audience is generally conservative and will likely include quite a few foes of the president's health care proposals, though the host endorsed Obama last year.

Smerconish, who said he has received more than 5,000 emails in the last 24 hours, asked whether Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of health and human services, misspoke when she said on

"She didn't really misspeak," Obama replied, asserting that his message has stayed the same -- that a public option is one way, but not the only way, to control costs. "The press got a little excited and some folks on the left got a little excited."

Obama also disputed that he favors a government takeover of health care. "I would love the private marketplace to handle this without any government intervention," he said. "The problem is, it's not working."

The president said he wants to preserve the private market, but add consumer protections.

In response to a listener's question, Obama strongly disputed claims that the Democratic health care bills would provide coverage to illegal immigrants.

"No one has talked about giving health insurance to illegal immigrants. I want to make that absolutely clear," he said.

But he said it will continue to be the case that if an illegal immigrant shows up in the emergency room, he or she will get treated.

Obama said he doesn't want a situation that a child with tuberculosis isn't treated, then returns to the playground and threatens to infect "our kids."

Plus, he said, there should be "a basic standard of decency" to provide care when someone faces a life-threatening illness or injury.

Another listener asked whether Obama's "knees were buckling a little bit" even with Democrats controlling Congress and the White House.

"I guarantee to you Joe that we're going to get health care reform done," Obama declared, bemoaning what he called "hand-wringing" and media fascination with every legislative twist and turn. "Passing a big bill like this is always messy."

He also said he wants to give Republicans a chance to be part of a compromise, but won't compromise his core principles on health care. (The full transcript of the interview is below.)

Representative Eric Cantor's office responded to Obama's interview by questioning the sincerity of his bipartisan push.

"We would love to know when, exactly – time, date, place – the President or his staff reached out to Republican Leaders?" Brad Dayspring, spokesman for the No. 2 House Republican, said in an email.

"In fact, the White House blatantly ignored our outreach effort. In May, House Republican Leaders sent the President a letter detailing Republican principles, asking to work together on meaningful, bipartisan reform that Americans could support. And the President’s response? Meeting? Nah. Work together? No thanks. Further discussion? Nope. Instead, they went with, ' Thanks for the letter.' ”

Later this afternoon, Obama held an online-phone strategy meeting with Organizing for America, the current iteration of his presidential campaign that is armed with 13 million or so email addresses.

UPDATE: Obama did the pep rally in a small room at the Democratic National Committee, where about 50 volunteers chanted "Yes, we can," Obama's campaign slogan.

According to the press pool report, Obama talked about the hardships of his longshot campaign, and compared them with his push for health care reform.

"Now, we all know this has been an emotional debate. We've seen tempers flare. Accusations have been hurled. And sometimes it seems like one loud voice can drown out all the civil, sensible voices out there," Obama said.

"But remember one thing: Nothing's more powerful than millions of voices calling for change. That's how we won this election. You know this. And that's why, since OFA launched its health reform campaign in June, you've hosted 11,000 events in more than 2,500 towns in every single state and every single congressional district, which is remarkable."

"We are not going to give up now," Obama said after answering questions. (Listen to the event here.) The full transcript of the event is below.

He needs to rally his troops, whom Democratic officials acknowledge have not been as energized by the complex health care debate as by Obama's "change we can believe in" campaign last year. Valerie Jarrett, a top Obama adviser, warned liberal bloggers last week that the health care push is "an uphill battle, and it won't happen unless we energize our base."

David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager, told supporters in the email invitation for today's huddle that "the special interests and partisan attack groups who oppose reform will not let up, and they will tell whatever lies they can to spread fear. There's a lot more work for all of us to do."

Late Wednesday, the group told backers it has launched its own truth-squadding website (the White House already has one) called "Setting the Record Straight."

"It feels like a new lie about health insurance reform crops up each day. Government taking over all health care? Not true. Euthanasia for seniors? Couldn't be more false. Rationing of care? Reform will stop rationing, not increase it," wrote Organizing for America director Mitch Stewart.

"These lies create fear and anger, and we're seeing the results around the country....It's time to set the record straight -- and, more importantly, expose the special interests and partisan attack organizations behind the lies and misinformation."

Mitt Romney is probably one of the last people President Obama is looking to for advice on how to get a health care bill done.

But the former Massachusetts governor, who sought the GOP presidential nomination last year and could very well run again in 2012, offered some guidance anyway this morning.

Romney said on CBS's "Early Show" that the president is to blame for the slowing momentum on the bill, faulting Obama for giving too much say to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic liberals.

"If the president wants to get something done, he needs to put aside the extreme liberal wing of his party," Romney said.

While Obama has been stumping for a sweeping health care bill, he has left the details of the drafting to Congress, where majority Democrats are divided. Members of the Blue Dog coalition of conservative Democrats have balked at some provisions, and more moderate Democrats in the Senate are still trying to cut a deal with Republicans. The intraparty divisions emerged clearly this week when it appeared that Obama was backing away from insisting that a public option be part of any bill.

Jason Reed/Reuters

Kennedy flashed a trademark smile in April after President Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act at a Washington school.

By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, in a poignant acknowledgment of his mortality amid a critical time in the national health care debate, has privately asked the governor and legislative leaders to change the succession law to guarantee that Massachusetts will not lack a Senate vote in the event of his death.

In a personal, sometimes wistful letter sent Tuesday to Governor Deval L. Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray, and House Speaker Robert DeLeo, Kennedy asks that Patrick be given the authority to appoint someone to the seat temporarily while voters choose a new senator in a special election.

While Kennedy, who is battling cancer, does not specifically mention his illness or the health reform debate raging in Washington, the implication from his letter is clear: He is trying to make sure that the leading cause of his life -- better health coverage for all -- advances in the event of his death.

Kennedy said in his letter, which was obtained by the Globe, that he supports the current law, which gives voters the power to fill a Senate vacancy. But he said the state and country need two Massachusetts senators.

"I strongly support that law and the principle that the people should elect their senator,” Kennedy wrote. ''I also believe it is vital for this Commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate during the approximately five months between a vacancy and an election.''

Wanting their voices heard in the health care debate as well, two religious-based groups are holding events today -- but only one will get a cameo appearance by President Obama.

Faith in Public Life had Obama plus a senior administration official for a live webcast call-in this afternoon called “40 Minutes for Health Reform."

UPDATE: The coalition said that an estimated 140,000 people listened in on the call.

In the conference call with the liberal religious leaders, Obama called health insurance coverage for all Americans a "core ethical and moral obligation." He disputed claims that Democratic bills fund abortions, give benefits to illegal immigrants, or create "death panels" that would decide who gets expensive end-of-life treatment.

"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."

The group says that "people of faith who have experienced the consequences of our broken system will share their stories" and that "clergy working in their own communities to reform health care will highlight ways they are impacting the debate. "

The group, which is sponsored by more than 30 religious denominations and organizations, says it includes lay leaders, clergy, and others from across the political spectrum and from different ideologies, religious traditions, and races.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele put his own spin on the meeting with faith leaders, who talk about the moral dimension of health care.

“President Obama was hoping to be on offense during the month of August to travel the country and put on the hard sell for government-run health care," Steele said in a statement this afternoon. "Instead, President Obama is frantically struggling to shore up his base. The religious left talks about their desire for ‘social justice.’ No bill that funds abortion or strips health care services away from seniors and low-income Americans can or should be considered just, and that is precisely what the president’s plan does.”

Meanwhile, another organization will hold a counter-conference call later tonight to offer an anti-abortion alternative and mobilize its voters on health care. More than 320,000 pro-life voters will be invited to take part in the teleconference.

“Tens of thousands of pro-lifers across America have already contacted their legislators to urge the preservation of our long-standing tradition of limiting taxpayer funds for abortion, but now is the time to turn up the heat," Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement. "Without language to explicitly exclude an abortion mandate, the legislation will result in Americans footing the bill for abortion on-demand in the largest expansion of government-backed abortion since Roe v. Wade.”

UPDATE: That group claimed that 160,000 took part in its conference call.

Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life, added in a statement:

“The call for reform as a ‘moral imperative’ rings hollow with Americans because the overwhelming majority firmly oppose taxpayer funding for abortion coverage. Abortion is not healthcare. Real healthcare respects life. As the Hippocratic Oath reminds us, health care grounded in a moral imperative protects the most vulnerable among us including the unborn and the elderly. Real healthcare does not fund the destruction of unborn children and it does not delay or deny care to the sick, elderly and weak among us, but that is the prospect we currently face.”

And Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said in a statement:

“The Religious Left, that has blindly put their faith in this Administration’s attempted takeover of health care, has repeatedly said they do not want to get into the weeds on the policy aspects of health care reform. Instead they say their focus is on the moral mandate that all people have health care. Ensuring that taxpayer are not forced to fund abortions and that the conscience rights of health care workers are protected is not getting into the weeds, but rather it is ensuring that health care reform is kept on a higher moral plain.”

There's quite a bit of buzz today that Democrats might go it alone on a health care overhaul, giving up on a bipartisan bill because of Republican intransigence and unwillingness to compromise.

But that prospect isn't all that new.

In April, congressional Democrats reached a deal that would let the Senate pass a bill with a simple majority of 51 votes, rather than the 60 votes needed to overcome a Republican filibuster. Under that agreement, the parliamentary maneuver -- known as reconciliation -- would be used only if the Senate fails to pass a bill by Oct. 15.

The New York Times and CNN, among others, are reporting that there is more focus on just getting enough Democrats' votes to pass a health care bill after the Republican criticism during the town halls being held by members of Congress during the August recess.

But the White House is already pushing back, with spokesman Robert Gibbs telling reporters this morning that it's still only mid-August and there is plenty of time to shape a bill that could win broad support.

Gibbs told reporters this afternoon that the White House still wants a bipartisan deal and believes that key Republicans are still working toward one in good faith.

"The president believes strongly in working with Republicans and Democrats, independents, any that seek to reform health care, that want to see costs cut, coverage increased, insurance reforms implemented that no longer discriminate against families and individuals," he said.

But asked whether that preference trumps Obama's oft-stated goal of getting a bill passed this year, Gibbs replied, "It does not."

And Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus said he's still optimistic that his bipartisan "Gang of Six" is on track to produce a compromise bill by Sept. 15.

Republicans, instead of going ballistic about being frozen out, are treating the possibility as old news. The office of Representative Eric Cantor, the No. 2 House Republican, said today that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made it clear for a while now that Democrats would pass a bill without GOP support and that the White House has not made much effort at reaching out to Republicans.

“The announcement that Democrats will abandon bipartisanship in order to pass their costly government takeover of health care is nothing new," House Republican leader John Boehner said in a statement today. "From day one, the White House has taken a go-it-alone approach on health care. Months ago, Republicans sent the president a letter noting areas of potential common ground on health care reform and requesting a meeting with him to discuss a bipartisan way forward.  The administration rejected our efforts to work together, choosing instead to craft a costly government takeover of health care and to march forward on a partisan basis solely with Democrats in Congress. 
  
“Now, Democratic leaders find themselves all alone in support of a plan that will drive health care costs higher than ever, increase the federal deficit, slash Medicare, and let government bureaucrats make personal medical decisions that only patients and doctors should make," Boehner added. "The more the American people learn about this plan, the less they like it.  It’s time for President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and congressional Democrats to scrap this costly plan, start over and work with Republicans on reforms that make health care more affordable and accessible for middle-class families and small businesses.”

As the health care overhaul seems increasingly stuck in partisan gridlock, a new poll shows that the public is down on Washington.

And the survey released today from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press says that more Americans are starting to blame Democrats and President Obama, who promised over and over to change Washington.

In the poll, 63 percent of respondents said that Obama and GOP leaders are not working together on important issues facing the country, up from 45 percent in February soon after he took office. And while a plurality -- 29 percent -- blame Republicans, 17 percent now fault Obama, up from 7 percent in February.

Obama's own job approval rating is down to 51 percent, down from 54 percent last month and 64 percent in February.

The survey also found that Americans have a dimmer view of the Democratic Party, which had a 62 percent favorability rating just before Obama was inaugurated, but now has a 49 percent favorability rating. The GOP, meanwhile, remains stuck at a 40 percent favorability.

The poll was conducted Aug. 11-17.

A town hall held by Representative Barney Frank has joined the pantheon of at-times rowdy face-offs on health care this month.

But instead of a shouting critic getting the best of the congressman, this time it was a zinger from the Newton Democrat that drew the most notice and was featured on CNN.

His town hall Tuesday night in Dartmouth drew more than 500 people, who asked how the nation could afford a health care overhaul and who protested a bigger government role. He admonished the protestors, saying that shouting prevented a serious debate on the issue.

He reserved his most biting response, however, for one questioner, a woman who went to the microphone carrying a poster of President Obama with a Hitler-style mustache. The exchange has been replayed repeatedly on cable TV today.

"Why do you continue to support a Nazi policy?" she asked Frank.

"On what planet do you spend most of your time?" he shot back, as the crowd applauded.

Blasting the woman -- apparently a supporter of fringe presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche -- for comparing a bid to improve health care to the Nazis, Frank went on to say that it was "a tribute to the First Amendment that this kind of vile, contemptible nonsense is so freely propagated."

And for good measure, he added, "Ma'am, trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table. I have no interest in doing it."

The US is closely watching the presidential election Thursday in Afghanistan, where more than 60,000 American troops are taking on the Taliban, trying to root out al Qaeda, and seeking to further a stable society.

Senator John F. Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued his own statement today about what's at stake.

“The Afghan people are demonstrating tremendous courage in defying threats of violence and pursuing democracy in their elections. The fact that dozens of candidates, including two women, are competing for President and thousands of candidates, including about 300 women, are running for provincial council seats is a testament to Afghans’ commitment to having a democracy that works," the Massachusetts Democrat said.

“Ultimately, the success of the elections will be judged by the Afghan people. Americans share Afghans’ hopes for a credible, legitimate, and inclusive process where all those that want to vote, including women, have the opportunity to do so safely. The United States does not support any one candidate in tomorrow’s contest; we will continue to work with the elected representatives of the Afghan people to help bring peace and stability to their country.”

With the health care fight focusing on the so-called public option, a new poll shows that Americans are divided on the issue.

According to the NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey released today, 47 percent of Americans oppose a government plan to compete with private insurers, while 43 percent support it. That's the reverse of last month, before it became such a big issue, when 46 percent backed the idea and 44 percent were against it.

The poll also found that 48 percent agreed with opponents' argument that a public plan would reduce choice of doctors and limit treatment options, while 45 percent agree with supporters' description that the public plan would help lower costs and extend coverage to the uninsured.

UPDATE: The poll also found that Obama's marks on the handling of health care are dropping to 47 percent disapproval and 41 percent approval. But that's still better than Republicans, who earned 61 percent disapproval on the issue.

But 54 percent of respondents said they were worried about the health care overhaul "going too far." And majorities said that the overhaul would cover illegal immigrants, mean a government takeover, and lead to tax-funded abortions -- though the bill sponsors dispute that. A minority, 45 percent, said the changes would mean "death panels" -- the widely debunked notion that a provision would create committees of bureaucrats who would decide when to stop medical care to the elderly.

The poll, conducted Saturday through Monday, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

President Obama's grassroots organization will hold a forum on Thursday with the president on the health care fight and how it can help.

"The President will update us on the fight to pass real health insurance reform -- what's happening in D.C. and what's happening around the country. He'll lay out our strategy and message going forward and answer questions from supporters like you. And we'll unveil the next actions we'll organize together," Obama's former campaign manager, David Plouffe, wrote the 13 million members of Organizing for America this afternoon.

"This is a critical time in this President's administration, and in the history of our country. I hope you can join us," he said in the invitation to take part by phone or via the web.

In the email, Plouffe says that Organizing for America has organized nearly 12,000 events since it began its health care push in June and that about 60,000 members visited members of Congress during their recess. But the New York Times reported over the weekend that many members aren't as excited and involved in health care as they were during the campaign.

It's a tale of two letters as the health care debate continues apace today.

Sixty House Democrats have written a letter of protest to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who prompted a rebellion by liberals, by saying Sunday that the "public option" -- a government health plan to compete with private insurers -- was not an "essential element" of a health care overhaul as far as the Obama administration was concerned.

Their letter (first reported by the firedoglake.com and Plum Line blogs) is signed by the co-chairpersons of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. (Read it here.)

"The opportunity to improve access to health care is a onetime opportunity," they wrote. "Americans deserve reform that is real-not smoke and mirrors. We cannot rely solely on the insurance companies’ good faith efforts to provide for our constituents. A robust public option is essential, if we are to ensure that all Americans can receive health care that is accessible, guaranteed and of high-quality."

UPDATE: Sebelius, herself, tried to get back on message today, repeating the White House line that Obama hasn't changed his position and still prefers a public option, though the administration is open to other ways to offer competition to private insurers.

"All I can tell you is that Sunday must have been a very slow news day because here's the bottom line: Absolutely nothing has changed. We continue to support the public option. That will help lower costs, give American consumers more choice and keep private insurers honest," she said during a speech on Medicare to the US Commission on Aging.

"If people have other ideas about how to accomplish these goals, we'll look at those, too. But the public option is a very good way to do this. I've seen it work for state employees in states like Kansas where a public option is side-by-side with private insurers, offering competition and choice for state employees. It's what it does when it provides choice in markets that are often dominated by one insurance company, a monopoly that can charge what it wants because it has no competition."

On the other side, House GOP leader John Boehner has written to Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) President and CEO Billy Tauzin, urging him to reconsider the powerful drug industry's support of Obama's overall thrust, or as Boehner puts it "Washington Democrats’ government takeover of health care." (Read it here.)

The drug industry agreed to kick in $80 billion in savings over 10 years to help pay for the overhaul and help fund a pro-reform ad campaign. In return, the White House agreed not to push for additional concessions.

"Appeasement rarely works as a conflict resolution strategy," Boehner writes. "This is as true in the arena of policymaking as it is in schoolyards across America. When a bully asks for your lunch money, you may have no choice but to fork it over. But cutting a deal with the bully is a different story, particularly if the “deal” means helping him steal others’ money as the price of protecting your own."

"The simple truth is, two wrongs don’t make a right. And the short-sighted health care deal PhRMA struck with the Obama Administration at your urging provides confirmation of this time-tested maxim on an epic and tragic scale."

"PhRMA would do well to halt this short-sighted, misguided campaign and listen to the American people, rather than continue to collaborate on an effort to spin them," Boehner adds.

The liberal backlash is already starting.

Seeking Republican support for its healthcare overhaul, the White House suggested over the weekend that it would be open to dropping the so-called public option -- a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers and keep them honest on price and quality.

The Obama team hinted that it would consider a nonprofit health cooperative -- being proposed by key senators -- as an alternative to a government plan.

Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor and Democratic Party chief during last year's campaign, urged the president today to stay firm with a public option.

"You can't really do health reform without it," Dean, a leader of the party's liberal wing, said on morning news shows. He called a direct government role "the entirety of health care reform."

On MSNBC, Dean said this afternoon that a while a few small coops have worked in places like Washington state, "it doesn't work" nationally.

The problem, he said, is it was tried in the form of Blue Cross/Blue Shield, which started as a nonprofit and which now acts like a private insurer.

Without a public option, the overhaul bill would just funnel more money to an industry that has acted "abominably," Dean said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi renewed her support for a public option, quoting Obama's own words.

“As the President stated in March, ‘The thinking on the public option has been that it gives consumers more choices and it helps keep the private sector honest, because there's some competition out there.'

“We agree with the President that a public option will keep insurance companies honest and increase competition," Pelosi said in a statement. "There is strong support in the House for a public option.  In the House, all three of our bills contain a public option, as does the bill from the Senate HELP Committee. A public option is the best option to lower costs, improve the quality of health care, ensure choice and expand coverage. The public option brings real reform to lower costs over the 10-year period of the bill.”

Representative Anthony Weiner, a New York Democrat who has compared leaving private insurers in charge to "making a pyromaniac the fire chief," predicted that the bill won't win a majority in the House without the public plan.

"I would love to be one of the big supporters of the Obama plan, but I've got to know that it includes a public option." he said this afternoon on CNN.

"Look, the president has to lead on this and he has to say very clearly a public option is important that we could -- that we hold these insurance companies accountable and provide some competition," Weiner added. "I would love to be the one carrying the ball for him, but unless he says a public option is the way to go, I'm going to be a no and so will a lot of people."

Senator Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, weighed in with his own statement:

"A public option is a fundamental part of ensuring health care reform brings about real change. Opposing the public plan is an endorsement of the status quo in this country that has left tens of millions of Americans uninsured or underinsured and put massive burdens on employers.  I have heard too many horror stories from my constituents about how the so-called competitive marketplace has denied them coverage from the outset, offered a benefit plan that covers everything but what they need or failed them some other way.  A strong public option would ensure competition in the industry to provide the best, most affordable insurance for Americans and bring down the skyrocketing health care costs that are the biggest contributor to our long-term budget deficits. I am not interested in passing health care reform in name only.  Without a public option, I don't see how we will bring real change to a system that has made good health care a privilege for those who can afford it.”

The AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor federation that has been a loyal Obama ally, also said it would "forcefully" urge the White House and Senate to keep the public option in the bill.

"A quality public health insurance option is a crucial part of health care reform to keep private insurance companies honest, hold down costs and ensure that everybody has a health care choice available. Key to holding down costs for families, for businesses, and for the federal budget is forcing insurance companies to compete. And the only way to force real competition on the insurance companies is a strong public plan option," president John Sweeney said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, the usual suspects opposed to reform are trying to hijack the reform process and attacking the public health insurance plan option because they are afraid of competition and they want to keep gouging working families. But unless we take decisive steps to stop the crippling rise of health costs, we will have squandered this moment of opportunity."

UPDATE: Though many observers heard a change in the language that Obama used at a town hall on Saturday and that Sebelius used, the White House insisted today that Obama's position had not shifted significantly.

"His preference is a public option," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters on Air Force One returning from the president's four-day Western trip. "If there are other ideas, he's happy to look at them....I think this is true not only for the issue of health care, but for virtually every other issue that he'll ever deal with in public life is he has goals about what he wants to accomplish and he's not necessarily wedded to only one way of getting there. I think he's said that a hundred times."

Gibbs added, "I challenge you guys all to go back and see what we've said about this over the course of many, many, many, many months, and you'll find a boring consistency to our rhetoric."

Republicans, meanwhile, are not welcoming the possible concession.

Instead, the Republican National Committee sent out a list of comments from Democrats to back up its case that co-ops could be a disguise for another form of the public option.

" 'Public option' by any other name is still government-run health care," the RNC said, adding that the reports of the demise of the public option are "greatly exaggerated."

Still, the issue could divide the Democratic coalition that has been united behind Obama on health care.

Even as Kathleen Sebelius, the health and human services secretary, was saying on CNN Sunday that the public option was not an "essential element" for reform, the Democratic National Committee was all over Dick Armey, a former House Republican leader and now head of the conservative group FreedomWorks, for saying on NBC that a government insurance option would amount to tyranny.

"If you give a government program and let me choose to be in or choose to be out, that's generosity. If you force me in, irrespective of my desires, that's tyranny," Armey said.

DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse responded, “If Dick Armey thinks government involvement in health care is tyranny, he must be forgetting or ignoring the fact that Medicare is a government plan that has been praised as one of the most successful programs ever -- a plan which is popular among seniors and runs better and with lower administrative costs than virtually any private insurance plan. If Republicans like Dick Armey are going to continue to rail against government involvement in health care, they should come forward to call for the abolition of Medicare and Medicaid and if not, just admit that their rhetoric is just part of their political strategy to 'break' the President and derail reform.”

The economy appears to be finally on the road to recovery, and on the hustings President Obama has been celebrating that turnaround and crediting the $787 billion economic stimulus plan he championed.

But a new poll out today suggests that most Americans disagree.

Six months after Obama signed the package of tax cuts and spending, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll found that 57 percent of respondents say the stimulus package is having no impact on the economy or making it worse --33 percent said no effect and 24 percent worse. Just 41 percent said the stimulus is making the economy better.

Over the long term, 38 percent of respondents said the stimulus will make things better and 38 percent said it would make it worse.

For respondents personally, only 18 percent said the stimulus has improved their situation while 13 percent said worse and 68 percent said no impact. And more respondents -- 34 percent -- said they expect the stimulus will make things worse for them personally over the long term than better -- 29 percent.

House Republicans -- not a single one of whom voted for the stimulus package -- jumped on the poll results to continue their attack.

“By any objective standard, the Democrats’ trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ isn’t working," House GOP leader John Boehner said in a statement today. "The administration promised the ‘stimulus’ would provide a ‘jolt’ to our economy and create jobs immediately, but 2.8 million more Americans have lost their jobs since the ‘stimulus’ became law.  The American people are asking, ‘where are the jobs?’ 

"The administration’s insistence on spending, taxing, and borrowing more than ever is not the answer they’re seeking.  Instead, it is burying our children and grandchildren under an unmanageable mountain of debt.  Families and small businesses expect and deserve far better.  Rather than pursuing more job-killing policies like a government takeover of health care and a national energy tax, Democrats should work with Republicans on better solutions that create jobs, curb spending, and control the debt.”

The war of words over health care continues today in dueling radio/Internet addresses.

In one corner, President Obama, who in his weekly remarks, said that with health care overhaul close, the special interests are doing their best to scare and mislead Americans.

In the other corner, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, who delivering the Republican address, says that Democrats are rushing through a health care bill and that their solution is mostly throwing taxpayers' money at the problem.

They're both trying to win the public as members of Congress spend the month of August at home listening to their constituents before returning next month to resume work on legislation that Obama wants on his desk this year.

Obama directly addresses one Republican claim that a provision to offer counseling on hospice care and other end-of-life issues amounts to government "death panels" that would decide who deserves medical treatment -- and who doesn't . Though the claim has been widely debunked, a bipartisan group of senators have agreed to drop the provision, which is in House Democrats' bill, from the Senate draft.

"That rumor began with the distortion of one idea in a Congressional bill that would allow Medicare to cover voluntary visits with your doctor to discuss your end-of-life care -- if and only if you decide to have those visits. It had nothing to do with putting government in control of your decisions; in fact, it would give you all the information you need – if you want it – to put you in control of your decisions," says Obama, who said "it's disappointing, but it’s not surprising" that reform opponents are resorting to such tactics.

"Those who would stand in the way of reform will say almost anything to scare you about the cost of action," Obama adds. "But they won’t say much about the cost of inaction. If you’re worried about rationed care, higher costs, denied coverage, or bureaucrats getting between you and your doctor, then you should know that’s what’s happening right now. In the past three years, over 12 million Americans were discriminated against by insurance companies due to a preexisting condition, or saw their coverage denied or dropped just when they got sick and needed it most. Americans whose jobs and health care are secure today just don’t know if they’ll be next to join the 14,000 who lose their health insurance every single day. And if we don’t act, average family premiums will keep rising to more than $22,000 within a decade."

But for his part, Hatch pushes back at Democrats who have called the much-publicized protests at some town halls "un-American."

"Although I strongly encourage the use of respectful debate in these town halls, we should not be stifling these discussions," he says. "There is nothing ‘un-American’ about disagreements. In fact, our great nation was founded on speaking our minds."

The reason people are protesting is that they have legitimate worries about the proposals being offered by Obama and congressional Democrats.

"A big reason for this concern is that nearly 85 percent of Americans have coverage and they are really worried about what reform means for them. Especially our seniors," Hatch says.

“Republicans in Congress agree with the majority of Americans who believe that just throwing more taxpayer dollars at a problem will not deliver meaningful reform. Telling the American public that the solution for solving a $2.5 trillion health care system is to simply spend another trillion dollars in our current economy, just does not make sense," Hatch adds.

Instead, any overhaul should focus on making coverage more affordable, banning insurers from denying coverage due to a pre-existing condition, and giving states more flexibility to cover the uninsured, he says.

Obama's speech can be viewed here, and his full address is below. Hatch's speech can be viewed here, and his full remarks are below.

President Obama, trying to regain momentum on his health care plan, took to Montana this afternoon to continue his critique of insurers.

In the second of three town halls this week designed to convince Americans who have insurance that an overhaul would benefit them, Obama blasted insurance companies that revoke or water down coverage when patients get seriously ill.

"They get sick, and suddenly that's when they get dropped," he said, saying that responsible Americans are being held hostage by rogue insurance firms.

"It's wrong....We're going to fix it when we pass health insurance reform this year," he told a crowd of about 1,300 in an airplane hangar in Belgrade, just outside Bozeman.

When Americans hear such horror stories, he said, they should think, "There but the grace of God go I."

Obama addressed what he called the emotional debate and the tempers flaring at some congressional town halls.

"TV loves a ruckus," he said. But what people aren't seeing on television and what "makes me proud" are many constructive meetings across the country where people are having difficult conversations about health care issues.

"That's how democracy is supposed to work," the president said.

"For all the scare tactics out there, what is truly scary ... is if we do nothing," Obama said, imploring, "Fight the fear."

Obama made a point of saying none of the questions had been pre-screened for the town hall.

But the initial questions were as friendly as they were in New Hampshire earlier this week.

A young single mother of two, including a disabled son with diabetes and epilepsy, asked whether he would lose Medicaid under Obama's plans.

The president said savings in the Medicaid program would not lower benefits. "You are a heroic mom," Obama added. "Your son's lucky."

The first semi-combative question came from a man who identified himself as a National Rifle Association member and who asked how Democrats plan to pay for health care without a tax increase.

Obama said if the bill costs $800 billion to $900 billion over 10 years, two thirds can come from savings and eliminating subsidies to insurance companies. The other third will have to come from some form of tax increase.

The president said he still prefers his proposal to limit income tax deductions for higher-income Americans. The congressional bills have different ideas, but he said he will keep his campaign commitment not to raise taxes on families making less than $250,000 a year.

For his last questions, Obama asked for a skeptic.

He got an insurance salesman who asserted that insurers have good ideas for health reform, and asked why Obama is "vilifying" insurance companies.

Obama acknowledged that insurers are offering some good proposals, but some insurers are funding campaigns against any kind of reform. He said he wants to keep private insurers, but he also wants to ban certain practices that are unfair to Americans.

Obama, sans tie to be Western casual and since his trip is also partly family vacation to national parks, joked that it was nice to be in a state with moose, elk, and bull: "In Washington, you mostly have just bull. So this is a nice change of pace."

(His full opening remarks and answers to questions are below.)

To emphasize the message of the day, Obama was also introduced by Katie Gibson, a cancer survivor who was told in 1995 that she had less than a year to live and lost her coverage when she and her husband moved to Montana.

Setting up the town hall, Obama's grassroots group from his campaign, Organizing for America, released a web video this morning that details the story of one woman whose coverage was dropped after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The web video shows Robin Beaton of Waxahachie, Tex., testifying last month before the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations about how her insurer retroactively dropped her coverage three days before she was scheduled to have surgery to remove tumors.

Saturday in Colorado, Obama's message of the day is expected to be insurers that charge exorbitant out-of-pocket costs.

In the first town hall this week, Tuesday in Portsmouth, N.H., Obama highlighted insurers who don't cover preexisting conditions. He was introduced by Lori Hitchcock, a 52-year-old, single, self-employed Portsmouth resident who could not get insurance after being diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 2003.

Obama's healthcare plan, and bills drafted by congressional Democrats, would ban all three insurer practices.

Montana is the home state to a key player in the congressional debate, Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, a Democrat. He spoke breifly before Obama, saying that he's going around the Big Sky state busting myths and telling the truth.

But unlike New Hampshire, which Obama won last November, Montana is a Republican state that went for GOP nominee John McCain.

And Obama will be greeted with a TV ad running in the state and financed by Conservatives for Patients' Rights, an advocacy group led by a former healthcare executive that has been helping organize protests at congressional town halls.

The spot shows a patient talking with her doctor, then a bespectacled, bow tie-wearing government bureaucrat appears with a clipboard labeled, "FEDERAL HEALTH POLICE."

The announcer urges viewers to oppose the public insurance option that Obama and many Democrats in Congress want as part of the overhaul. "It's not too late to put patients first," he says.

Though the idea that the health care overhaul bills call for "death panels" that would decide end-of-life care has been widely debunked, the Senate Finance Committee is dropping the controversial provision from its version.

Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, the panel's top Republican and one of six committee members trying to negotiate a bipartisan bill, said in a statement today that the provision "could be misinterpreted and implemented incorrectly."

The provision in the House bill would allow Medicare to pay doctors for voluntary counseling sessions on end-of-life issues, including living wills and hospice as an option for the terminally ill. It is supported by the American Medical Association and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

But the provision has generated a huge uproar, particularly after Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, called it "downright evil."

In a Facebook posting late Wednesday night, Palin argued that the elderly and ailing could be coerced into accepting minimal end-of-life care to reduce health care costs. "With all due respect, it's misleading for the president to describe this section as an entirely voluntary provision that simply increases the information offered to Medicare recipients," she wrote. "It's all just more evidence that the Democratic legislative proposals will lead to health care rationing."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said today that "death panels" are the biggest misconception the administration is trying to rebut.

In an email to Obama supporters and a letter posted on the White House website, senior adviser David Axelrod included the claim that the health care proposals would encourage "euthanasia" among eight "common myths."

"It does not. It’s a malicious myth that reform would encourage or even require euthanasia for seniors. For seniors who want to consult with their family and physicians about end-of life decisions, reform will help to cover these voluntary, private consultations for those who want help with these personal and difficult family decisions," Axelrod wrote.

In his town hall on health care on Tuesday in Portsmouth, N.H., President Obama took on the issue head-on.

"The rumor that's been circulating a lot lately is this idea that somehow the House of Representatives voted for 'death panels' that will basically pull the plug on grandma because we've decided it's too expensive to let her live anymore," he told the crowd.

"It turns out that I guess this arose out of a provision in one of the House bills that allowed Medicare to reimburse people for consultations about end-of-life care, setting up living wills, the availability of hospice, et cetera. So the intention of the members of Congress was to give people more information so that they could handle issues of end-of-life care when they're ready, on their own terms. It wasn't forcing anybody to do anything. This is I guess where the rumor came from.

"And somehow it's gotten spun into this idea of 'death panels.' I am not in favor of that....I want to clear the air here."

In his statement, Grassley said, "On the end-of-life issue, there's a big difference between a simple educational campaign, as some advocates want, and the way the House committee-passed bill pays physicians to advise patients about end of life care and rates physician quality of care based on the creation of and adherence to orders for end-of-life care, while at the same time creating a government-run program that is likely to lead to the rationing of care for everyone.

"On the Finance Committee, we are working very hard to avoid unintended consequences by methodically working through the complexities of all of these issues and policy options. That methodical approach continues.  We dropped end-of-life provisions from consideration entirely because of the way they could be misinterpreted and implemented incorrectly. Maybe others can defend a bill like the Pelosi bill that leaves major issues open to interpretation, but I can't."

The White House asserted again today that the screaming at health care town halls all over cable TV is not representative of what's happening across the country.

To buttress that point, the Democratic National Committee sent out a list of reports in local newspapers about less heated events.

"Outside the echo chamber of 24-hour cable news, Americans all across the country are attending town halls, holding coffee shop conversations and engaging in respectful, honest debates about the best way to achieve health insurance reform. As the president continues to forge ahead, making historic progress in his effort to reform America’s broken health insurance system, please see below for coverage of the conversations you haven’t been hearing," the DNC said.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said today there are more reasoned discussions on health care going on in the town halls.

"I think people are getting the feedback that they're having very good conversations about what's in the legislation -- what people would like to see, what options they want to have, why they think it's important," he said.

"I said this yesterday, I'll say this again: while I appreciate that you all have decided that every town hall meeting ends in pushing, shoving and yelling...they're not completely indicative of what's going on in America."

Still, the administration will continue trying to rebut attacks on Obama's proposals, he said.

"I think he believes very strongly, as we talked about yesterday, that it is important to address misconceptions or misimpressions that have been left out there about the bills. I do believe that the president feels strongly that when he makes his case, it helps the case for overall health care reform," Gibbs told reporters during his daily briefing.

"So he felt very satisfied with what happened in New Hampshire. He was able to address concerns that people had."

Meanwhile, White House senior adviser David Axelrod sent an e-mail to Obama supporters listing eight reasons why an overhaul of the health care system is essential and listing what he called eight “common myths” about the overhaul effort. The e-mail asks supporters to forward the message to someone who “has a question about reform.”

“Let’s start a chain e-mail of our own” to counter “the viral e-mails that fly unchecked and under the radar,” Axelrod wrote.

Two nonpartisan watchdog groups in the nation's capital announced today they have joined forces to create a database showing campaign cash to members of Congress and the earmarks (otherwise known as pork barrel projects) that they requested.

Taxpayers for Common Sense provided the data documenting more than 20,000 earmarks totaling more than $35 billion. The Center for Responsive Politics provided data detailing $227 million in campaign donations and lobbying expenses.

"At a minimum, earmarks granted to lawmakers' friends and supporters merit scrutiny and indicate potential conflicts of interest," Sheila Krumholz, the center's executive director, said in a statement. "This information will help Americans decide for themselves whether their congressional representatives are beholden to the voters who elect them -- or to elite interests bankrolling their campaigns."

The online databases (available here and here) allows the public to see how much their elected officials secured in earmarks during the 2008 and 2009 fiscal years and who benefited from their largess -- then track how much those beneficiaries contributed to lawmakers' campaign war chests.

"Earmarks and campaign contributions are part and parcel of the pay-to-play system that permeates Washington," Ryan Alexander, president of the taxpayers group, said in a statement. "Companies making thousands of dollars in campaign contributions get millions of dollars of earmarked taxpayer dollars from lawmakers."

President Obama is on the campaign trail for his health care plan, trying to fend off what he calls "wild" accusations and rumors.

But Republicans are trying to turn the tables.

The Republican Naitonal Committee has launched a new website that includes material accusing Obama and Democrats of making inflated claims that under the overhaul anyone can keep their doctor or coverage if they want, and that middle-class Americans won't see higher taxes under the proposals.

"There is no place for outlandish rumor or outrageous rhetoric in the debate for the affordable and accessible health care reform we all want," RNC Chairman Michael Steele wrote supporters today in a fund-raising email.

"The Republicans want an honest and open debate about how to reform health care, but it is the Democrats who do not want to have a legitimate discussion on the issues. Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and their liberal special interest cronies are resorting to calling concerned citizens who have questions about their health care schemes 'astroturf,' 'un-American,' and even 'political terrorists.' "

The RNC also has a web video that asserts that health care is Obama's latest experiment, after the economic stimulus package, and America can't take the risk. "Now we face his most dangerous experiment of all -- government takeover of health care," the announcer says.

Meanwhile, 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is fighting back against Democrats (and independent fact-checkers) who have assailed her claims that the healthcare bills call for "death panels" that would decide end-of-life care. The bills do offer end-of-life counseling that is voluntary.

"Yesterday President Obama responded to my statement that Democratic health care proposals would lead to rationed care; that the sick, the elderly, and the disabled would suffer the most under such rationing; and that under such a system these ‘unproductive’ members of society could face the prospect of government bureaucrats determining whether they deserve health care,” she wrote on her Facebook page Wednesday night.

"With all due respect, it’s misleading for the president to describe this section as an entirely voluntary provision that simply increases the information offered to Medicare recipients.”

A powerful, deep-pocketed new coalition is launching a $12 million TV ad campaign today in support of a health care overhaul.

Calling themselves Americans for Stable Quality Care, the group includes three vested interests in the debate: PhRMA, the drug companies' lobby; the American Medical Association, the big doctors' group; and the Federation of American Hospitals. It also includes two groups supportive of President Obama, FamiliesUSA and the Service Employees International Union.

Notably, the coalition does not include the insurance industry, which has been increasingly cast by Obama and Democrats as the bad guy in the debate.

"What does health insurance reform mean for you?” asks the ad’s narrator. “It means you can’t be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition, or dropped if you get sick. It means putting health-care decisions in the hands of you and your doctor. It means lower costs, a cap on out-of-pocket expenses, tough new rules to cut waste and red tape, and a focus on preventing illness before it strikes. So what does health insurance reform really mean? Quality, affordable care you can count on."

The battle for public opinion on a healthcare overhaul appears to be at a stalemate.

A new Gallup Poll released today found that support for President Obama's handling of the issue has stayed status quo over the past three weeks -- as conservative activists have swarmed congressional town halls to register their opposition and as the White House has stepped up its sales pitch.

In a poll conducted Aug. 6-9, 49 percent of Americans said they disapproved of the president's handling of healthcare and 43 percent approved -- compared to 50 percent disapproval and 44 percent approval in a survey done July 17-19.

Obama's marks on healthcare are the lowest of four issues, with the others being education, foreign affairs, and the economy. And his approval ratings on issues are lower than his overall job approval rating of 54 percent.

The president held a town hall in Portsmouth, N.H., on Tuesday to hit back at his critics and try to clarify what his healthcare proposals don't include. He has two more scheduled this week, in Bozeman, Mont., and Grand Junction, Colo.

The new survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

UPDATE: A USA Today/Gallup Poll released later today about the protests found that 57 percent of Americans believe genuine concerns were behind them, while 48 percent said organizing by activists was also a factor.

While 51 percent said angry attacks represented "democracy in action," 59 percent said shouting down others attending the town halls was an "abuse of democracy."

All the shouting is having limited impact. Thirty-six percent of respondents said the protests haven't made any difference in how they view the healthcare debate, while 34 percent said they were more sympathetic toward the protesters' views and 21 percent were less sympathetic.

The poll, conducted Tuesday, has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Why wasn't President Obama's town hall on healthcare in New Hampshire Tuesday as much of a shouting match as some held by members of Congress?

At one point, Obama, himself, sought out a question from someone skeptical or suspicious of his plans, with limited success. Critics have suggested that the audience was, if not hand-picked, heavily stacked in the president's favor, even though anyone could sign up for the free tickets through the White House website and it says the winners were picked randomly by computer.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs gave his own explanation today -- a combination of a skewed picture of how raucous the congressional town halls have actually been, plus respect for the presidency.

"I doubt we're seeing a representative sample of any series of town hall meetings despite the food fight on cable every day," Gibbs said at his daily briefing .

"People want to take the opportunity to find out from the president -- to have him answer their questions about why he's doing what he's doing and the concerns they may have on the legislation," he added. "I think most people took that opportunity as something that was positive.

"I think some of you were disappointed yesterday that the president didn't get yelled at," Gibbs told reporters, chiding them for paying too much attention to the back-and-forth between protestors outside.

"The president wanted to have -- what I think what happened -- which was a rational discussion about health care reform legislation. I think that's what ensued. Did everybody agree? I think the answer to that is obviously no."

UPDATE: Meanwhile, conservative activists are questioning how an 11-year-old girl from Malden was called on by Obama to ask a question -- and noting the political activities of the girl's mother. Read about it on our sister blog.

Asked what the biggest obstacle was to passing a healthcare overhaul bill, Gibbs replied, "The people that want to keep the status quo. The people that believe that somehow what we have is working for the millions of Americans who are watching their healthcare premiums skyrocket every day, who are watching small businesses drop their coverage, who are part of the 12.5 million people over the past three years that have been told by an insurance company in seeking to buy insurance on a private market that they're not eligible because of what somebody has decided there's a pre-existing condition.

"I think that would be what the president would believe is the greatest obstacle and has been for 40 years, are people that -- that have a vested, in some senses monetary interest, in keeping things as they are."

Speaking of which, a new TV ad funded by the US Chamber of Commerce launched today. The business lobby opposes a proposal favored by some congressional Democrats to generate money to cover the uninsured by taxing the most generous employer-provided health benefits.

The spot shows an expanding red balloon as the announcer says, "Inflated taxes, swelling deficits, and expanded government control over your health."

The balloon bursts. "Tell Congress: 'Let’s slow down and reform healthcare the right way,' " the announcer says.

By Nandini Jayakrishna, Globe correspondent

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. -- President Obama's town hall on healthcare today -- his first since shouting matches and heckling met lawmakers trying to talk to their constituents -- was civil and sedate in comparison.

But activists on both sides sparred outside Portsmouth High School, some using bullhorns to get heard.

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But Greg Meyer, 39, of Hampton Falls, N.H., did not want to choose a side. He said if he could, he would stand in the middle of the street between the two sparring groups.

"If we did not believe in that separation, maybe we'd find a way to work together," Meyer said. "I'm on the side of the dialogue."

Supporting the proposals from Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress were AFL-CIO members, Planned Parenthood representatives, and others, dancing to the beat of African drummers.

“I am here because fairness and equality dictate it, we need the public option for health insurance, there should be no restrictions for pre-existing conditions," said Stuart Russell, 66, of Concord, N.H., wearing a sticker that said “I am a healthcare voter.”

Terry Lochhead, 62, of Canterbury, N.H., representing the New Hampshire Alliance for Retired Americans, also said that she supports a public insurance option that Obama is pushing and said that prescription drug prices are too high for the elderly. “It’s ridiculous, people can’t get discounts,” she said.

Mark Mackenzie, president of the AFL-CIO's New Hampshire branch, said the price of healthcare is going through the roof. "We need to begin the process of reining in costs that are out of control.”

He said there is a lot of hype and misinformation in the public and the myths about the Democratic proposals need to be debunked. "If it were a program that would destroy healthcare for people in this country, we wouldn’t stand here," he said.

On the other side of the street from the school, Republicans and other opponents played music including "Proud to be an American."

One opponent, William Kostric, who said he was in his 30s and from Manchester, had a handgun strapped to his leg. Kostric -- who was holding up a sign declaring, "It is time to water the tree of liberty," a slogan popular with anti-government activists -- said he was licensed to carry a gun.

"It’s a political statement,” Kostric said, adding "If you don’t use your rights, then you lose your rights.”

Police asked him to move away from school property, where guns are not allowed, but he was not arrested. He moved to church property a short distance from the school.

Portsmouth police spokesman Lt. Frank Warchol said that as long as a weapon is not concealed and is not carried on the school property, a person is not breaking state law.

"We can't do anything about it," he said. "Obviously he's on our radar screen at this time."

UPDATE: Kostric was interviewed later this afternoon on MSNBC, where under questioning from "Hardball" host Chris Matthews he defended his right to bring a weapon to the event.

Asked about the history of presidential assassinations, Kostric said he was not threatening violence by bringing a gun to a presidential event.

David Call, 60, of Scandish, Maine, said that the healthcare system does not need to be overhauled and that Obama is pushing his proposals too fast.

“If it took the president six months to pick a dog, shouldn’t he spend six months on healthcare?" Call asked. "Slow down, what’s the rush?”

Call also reacted against the top two House Democrats asserting in an opinion piece published Monday that it was "un-American" to disrupt the town hall meetings. “We’re not un-American because we speak up against our government," he said.

Laurie A. Turner, 44, of Manchester, N.H., a history teacher, also said she opposes the reform plans. “It’s gonna take a lot of power out of the hands of the people,” she said.

Hal Posselt, 62, of Concord, N.H., for one, is hoping for real dialogue instead of shouting between the two sides.

"I’m so tired of hearing all the noise out there -- too much noise, not enough thinking and reasoning,” he said. The various plans need to be explained to the public better, he said.

UPDATE: After the event, Lisa Gravel, 39, of Manchester, N.H., a foe of Obama's healthcare overhaul plans, said she was disappointed she could not get into the meeting.

“Everyone coming out of there was clearly an Obama supporter,” she said, holding a sign that read ‘Stop Trashing Our Constitution.’ “He’s not having a healthy debate. He really doesn’t want to hear what I have to say or what any of the people on this side of the street have to say. I find that dishonest.”

As he came out of the gym, Bruce Gottlieb , 56, said he favored the overhaul and and thought the president made a strong case for it, but added that he would have liked Obama to delve into specifics about the program he envisions.

"It was too general,” said the West Hartford, Conn. native. “I’m leaving a little disappointed.”
 

President Obama told a civil, restrained town hall meeting this afternoon in Portsmouth, N.H., that his healthcare overhaul will be good for Americans who already have insurance as well as those who don't.

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Town Hall photos

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Americans are being "held hostage" by insurers, he told about 1,800 people at Portsmouth High's gym, framed by a huge American flag behind the stage.

"I believe it is wrong," he added, and it is bankrupting families and businesses.

"Your health insurance should be there for you when it counts -- not just when you're paying premiums," he declared, adding that it will be once the health overhaul passes. "Nobody in America should go broke because they get sick."

"This is what reform is about" -- not all the chatter and shouting, the president added.

The long vigorous debate is part of democracy, he said. But, he said, "I hope we talk with each other and not over each other," adding "where we disagree, let's disagree over what's real," not falsehoods and rumors.

Greeted by a cheering crowd, he said it was great to be back in New Hampshire -- though he joked that most of his memories of the state "were cold."

He was introduced by a "real person" embodying the preexisting condition message of the day -- Lori Hitchcock, a 52-year-old, single, self-employed Portsmouth resident who was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 2003. Because no insurance company will sell health coverage to her because of her pre-existing condition, she has been uninsured for two years, the White House said.

Obama said her story is the same one he reads in letters every day.

Obama reprised his argument that the stimulus package and other steps are lifting the country out of recession and "the jobs picture is beginning to turn," but that healthcare reform is one of the pillars needed to "lay a new foundation for economic growth."

He also repeated his debunking of "myths," saying that Americans won't have to give up their insurance if they like it and that he isn't for a government takeover of the healthcare system.

"I don't think government bureaucrats should be meddling, but I also believe that health insurance bureaucrats shouldn't be meddling," he said to applause.

No one, he asserted, is holding insurers accountable for unfair practices. So while an estimated 46 million uninsured Americans need help, it's just as important to achieve reform for those with insurance, he said.

He said that health reform is closer than ever, but the special interests are gathering force to try to stop it.

"Now is the hard part," he said.

Asking for help knocking on doors and convincing neighbors, Obama said, "I never said change would be easy....Change is hard. And it doesn't start in Washington. It starts in places like Portsmouth."

"Yes we can," the crowd chanted, a reprise of Obama's campaign rallies.

"I remember that," Obama replied.

Asked by a state legislator whether he would pass a healthcare bill over Republican objections if necessary, Obama said some Republican friends on Capitol Hill are sincerely trying to find a bill that they can support, naming Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, among others.

But given Americans' plight and the healthcare's impact on the federal budget deficit, he said, "We have to get it done."

While he hopes for a bipartisan bill, "the most important thing is getting it done for the American people," the president said.

He used humor to dispute claims by 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and others that "death panels" will decide end-of-life care that will basically "pull the plug on Grandma." The truth, he said, is that there is a provision in the House bill to offer end-of-life counseling, but only for those who want it.

The first sort-of unfriendly question came from a Maine man who identified himself as a Republican and who said he was worried about a public insurance plan putting private insurers out of business.

"I think it's an excellent question, so I appreciate the opportunity to respond," the president replied, before explaining his opposition to a single-payer system like in Canada and to his support for improving the current system of employer-based coverage.

He asked for a question from someone who is "skeptical or suspicious" of his plans, saying he didn't want people to think that the crowd was full of plants.

It took until the very last query before the town hall ended after nearly an hour of questions.

A Derry, N.H., man said he had turned himself in on the portion of the White House website where people could report false emails and rumors.

Obama jumped to say that was another example of the media distorting what was happening. The reporting feature is not a way to compile an enemies list, the president said.

"Come on guys," he said. "All we're trying to do is answer questions.

The man's question was why Obama hadn't chastised Congress because there are two forms of healthcare -- one for members of Congress and one for the public.

Obama replied that without healthcare reform, the gap between the plan members of Congress get and what most Americans get will continue to be wide. But the health overhaul would give Americans an option of a plan very similar to the one that members of Congress get, he said.

"The status quo is not working for you," Obama said. (His full remarks, and the question-and-answer session is below.)

The town hall was Obama's first since the raucous spectacles during events that members of Congress have been having -- including one that Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania is hosting this morning, where one man has already been escorted out and there has been shouting and heckling.

The Democratic National Committee is backing up Obama's slightly retooled message with a new national cable TV ad. Showing images of happy families, the announcer says, "Your family's care comes first....There's something in it for all of us."

Organizing for America, Obama's grassroots group from the campaign, also echoed his message, releasing a web video this afternoon entitled "Coverage Denied."

In the video, Kristen Palmer of Minneapolis, who was featured in a previous video by the group, tells of how she has been denied health insurance coverage due to a pre-existing medical condition -- polycystic kidneys, a genetic disease she shares with her father -- despite the fact that she is healthy and currently suffers no consequences as a result of her medical history.

The White House release on the town hall is below:

Sarah Palin, getting in her two cents on the healthcare overhaul debate, has been of two minds lately.

The former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee turned up the volume late last Friday with a posting on her Facebook page that suggested that President Obama's plan would lead to a "death panel" that would ration care.

"And who will suffer the most when they ration care?" she wrote. "The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course. The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil."

That claim was immediately and loudly disputed by Democrats. (A fact-checking website, Politifact.com, also disputes Palin's characterization.)

"She just made that up,” Howard Dean, the former Democratic National Committee chairman and Vermont governor who is a doctor, said Sunday on CNN. “Just like the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ that she supposedly didn't support.

“There's nothing like euthanasia in the bill," he added. "I practiced medicine for a long time, and of course you have to have end of life discussions — the patients want that.”

Later Sunday, Palin posted another comment on her Facebook page, urging opponents of Obama's healthcare proposals to be civil at the town hall meetings that members of Congress are having, lest their message be lost in the controversy.
"There are many disturbing details in the current bill that Washington is trying to rush through Congress, but we must stick to a discussion of the issues and not get sidetracked by tactics that can be accused of leading to intimidation or harassment," Palin wrote. "Such tactics diminish our nation’s civil discourse which we need now more than ever because the fine print in this outrageous health care proposal must be understood clearly and not get lost in conscientious voters’ passion to want to make elected officials hear what we are saying. Let’s not give the proponents of nationalized health care any reason to criticize us."

President Obama's allies are ramping up their efforts for healthcare overhaul as the battle moves full bore back into local congressional districts and out of Washington.

Opponents of the healthcare bills being pushed by congressional Democrats have been raging at town hall meetings held by members of Congress, protests organized in part by conservative and business groups and cheered on by Republicans.

So Obama's grassroots group from the campaign, Organizing for America, sent an email out to the millions on its list, urging supporters to visit their members of Congress in their offices. The email names each supporter's representative and offers help on the message.

"All throughout August, our members of Congress are back in town. Insurance companies and partisan attack groups are stirring up fear with false rumors about the President's plan, and it's extremely important that folks like you speak up now," writes Mitch Stewart, director of the group.

"So we've cooked up an easy, powerful way for you to make a big impression: Office Visits for Health Reform. All this week, OFA members like you will be stopping by local congressional offices to show our support for insurance reform. You can have a quick conversation with the local staff, tell your personal story, or even just drop off a customized flyer and say that reform matters to you."

Community activists, organized by Massachusetts Communities Action Network, also plan to go Tuesday to home offices of six members of Congress: Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry, and Representatives Michael Capuano, Barney Frank, Stephen Lynch and Jim McGovern.

Even though Massachusetts has its own landmark healthcare law that has extended coverage to 97 percent of residents, the network says a national healthcare overhaul could still help the Bay State by providing federal assistance to allow the state to cover more moderate-income families, by improving Medicare for seniors, and by helping subsidize coverage for 30,000 legal immigrants.

Meanwhile, faith groups backing a health overhaul that provides universal care are launching a 40-day lobbying campaign.

The effort by People of Faith for Health Reform includes a new national cable TV ad in which several clergy talk about special interests fighting reform. "But God has given us a spirit not of fear, but of love and action," says the Rev. Stevie Wakes of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Kansas City, Kan.

"Millions of people of faith are supporting health insurance reform," adds the Rev. John Hay of Indianapolis. "Members of Congress: Will you?"

The campaign also includes prayer events in local districts, sermons on healthcare Aug. 28-30, and events in Washington in September as Congress resumes work after its August recess.

UPDATE: The White House, itself, officially launched a "reality check" website that features videos of top administration officials debunking "myths" about Obama's proposals. They include the claims from opponents about healthcare overhaul forcing the rationing of care, euthanasia of the critically ill, cuts in care for veterans, burdens on small businesses, and cuts in Medicare benefits.

In his weekly Internet and radio address, President Obama uses the hopeful jobs numbers to make his case again for a healthcare overhaul.

He says the July unemployment rate of 9.4 percent, the first decline in 15 months, shows "that we’ve begun to put the brakes on this recession and that the worst may be behind us."

"But we must do more than rescue our economy from this immediate crisis; we must rebuild it stronger than before. We must lay a new foundation for future growth and prosperity, and a key pillar of a new foundation is health insurance reform – reform that we are now closer to achieving than ever before," Obama declares.

While Congress did not meet his original timetable of both the House and Senate passing bills before leaving for the August recess, Obama puts the best face on the progress so far. "Four committees in Congress have produced legislation – an unprecedented level of agreement on a difficult and complex challenge," he says.

And with opponents of the healthcare overhaul taking over town hall events that members of Congress are holding in their districts, Obama takes on his critics, saying that they are misleading Americans.

"That is why it is important, especially now, as senators and representatives head home and meet with their constituents, for you, the American people, to have all the facts," Obama says.

"So, let me explain what reform will mean for you. And let me start by dispelling the outlandish claims that reform will promote euthanasia, cut Medicaid, or bring about a government takeover of health care. That’s simply not true. This isn’t about putting government in charge of your health insurance; it’s about putting you in charge of your health insurance. Under the reforms we seek, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your healthcare plan. And while reform is obviously essential for the 46 million Americans who don’t have health insurance, it will also provide more stability and security to the hundreds of millions who do."

Obama's address can be viewed here, and the prepared remarks are below:

President Obama this morning signed into law a bill replenishing the "cash for clunkers" program with another $2 billion.

The Senate passed the bill Thursday night to keep the program going, after an unexpected flood of car buyers used up the first $1 billion in rebates, as much as $4,500 for trading in gas guzzlers for more fuel-efficient vehicles.

"Now, more American consumers will have the chance to purchase newer, more fuel efficient cars and the American economy will continue to get a much-needed boost," Obama said in a statement after the Senate vote. " ‘Cash for Clunkers’ has been a proven success: the initial transactions are generating a more than 50% increase in fuel economy; they are generating $700 to $1000 in annual savings for consumers in reduced gas costs alone; and they are getting the oldest, dirtiest and most air polluting trucks and SUVs off the road for good. Businesses across the country – from small auto dealerships and suppliers to large auto manufacturers – are putting people back to work as a result of this program. I want to thank Leader Reid and the members of the Senate who moved quickly to extend a program that benefits our recovery and our auto industry while reducing our economy’s dependence on oil.”

One of President Obama's biggest allies -- Big Labor -- is coming to his aid on healthcare.

The AFL-CIO, the nation's largest union federation, announced today that it will mount an intensive 30-day grassroots effort to back a sweeping healthcare overhaul, timed during the recess when members of Congress will be home listening to their constituents.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, in a call-to-arms memo to union leaders, put the choice starkly: "The question for us is: will we let them make health care 'Obama's Waterloo' or will we make it the next big step in our march to Turn Around America?"

Sweeney said unions must fight for healthcare legislation that helps working people, not insurance companies. (His full memo is below.)

The AFL-CIO also put out a statement assailing the tactics of conservative groups, which are sending activists to congressional town hall meetings to criticize members of Congress.

"Every American has the inalienable right to participate in our democratic process. Our politics is passionate, heartfelt and often loud -- as was the founding of our nation. But that is not what the corporate-funded mobs are engaging in when they show up to disrupt town halls held by members of Congress," said the federation's secretary-treasurer, Richard Trumka.

"Major health care reform is closer than ever to passage and it is no secret that special interests want to weaken or block it. These mobs are not there to participate. As their own strategy memo states, they have been sent by their corporate and lobbyist bankrollers to disrupt, heckle and block meaningful debate. This is a desperation move, meant to slow the momentum for change," the statement continues.

"Mob rule is not democracy. People have a democratic right to express themselves and our elected leaders have a right to hear from their constituents -- not organized thugs whose sole purpose is to shut down the conversation and attempt to scare our leaders into inaction. We call on the insurance companies, the lobbyists and the Republican leaders who are cheering them on to halt these ‘Brooks Brothers Riot’ tactics. Health care is a crucial issue and everyone - on all sides of the issue - deserves to be heard."

UPDATE: The Service Employees International Union is urging attendees at townhall meetings to sign a pledge not be disruptive and to listen to those with whom they disagree.

“At the same time that America’s families are seeking relief from fast-rising and unaffordable health care costs, extreme radicals and corporate front groups are trying to derail health insurance reform by disrupting public meetings. While SEIU and allies across the country are staging more than 400 events to promote a real discussion on the country’s need for healthcare reform, these ‘Astroturf’ organizations, are spreading ludicrous, discredited myths designed to scare people away from much-needed reform," SEIU Healthcare Chairman Dennis Rivera said in a statement this afternoon.

“America’s families want a serious and civil discourse about health insurance reform. They want to know how health insurance reform will protect them and their loved ones.

“We, therefore, challenge everyone attending public meetings about health insurance reform to sign a pledge that they are prepared to engage in a civil dialogue so that the American people can better understand how reform, and the absence of such reform, will affect their lives.

“We are convinced that such a serious and civil discourse – tied to facts, not myths – will substantially increase the public’s support for reform."

With time running out before the Senate starts its August recess, President Obama turns his focus back to healthcare today.

He huddled with the so-called Gang of Six -- the bipartisan group of Senate Finance Committee members trying to make a deal on a healthcare overhaul bill.

UPDATE: White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that Obama urged the senators to keep seeking a compromise.

"The president invited the group to come to the White House today to provide an update and a status report of sorts on their negotiations amongst themselves and the committee. The president's message to them is to continue to work and find consensus on an issue that we know they've been working hard on, and is very important to the American people," Gibbs told reporters at his daily briefing.

"The president wants them to continue to work and make progress, and wanted to hear directly from them on where they were. It wasn't a negotiating session."

Finance Chairman Max Baucus has set a Sept. 15 deadline for the negotiators to strike a bargain. The Washington Post reports this morning that an emerging bill would come in at about $900 billion over the next decade and eventually cover 94 percent of Americans.

But it would not include the government insurance option that Obama and House Democrats support and, for the first time, tax healthcare benefits provided by employers under the most generous plans -- an idea Obama so far has shunned.

Obama is also hoping for a bipartisan deal, but if one isn't reached Democrats could use a parliamentary maneuver to move ahead without GOP support in the Senate.

"I am glad that in the Senate Finance Committee there have been a couple of Republicans … who've been willing to negotiate with Democrats to try to produce a bill," Obama told NBC News on Wednesday. "But they haven't yet. And I think at some point, some time in September, we're just going to have to make an assessment."

"I would prefer Republicans working with us on that, because I think it's in the interest of everybody. It shouldn't be a partisan issue," he added in the interview. "The bottom line is the American people, the American economy, and the federal budget, have to have some sort of reforms in the health-care system. And failure is not an option this year."

Three House committees led by Democrats passed healthcare bills before starting their recess last Friday, but Democrats are being hammered in town hall meetings in their districts, shouted down by conservative activists and others.

Democrats have hit back, saying Republicans are inciting "mob rule."

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is trying to reelect next year those representatives who are being hassled, formally announced today the launch of a new truth-squadding website dedicated, it said, "to exposing the truth-twisting attack by Republicans and their fringe right-wing groups on health insurance reform."

“Republicans are trying to poison the debate on health insurance reform with lies, misleading ads, and scare tactics so we’re launching healthcarefactcheck.com to set the record straight and empower our supporters to fight back with the truth,” Jon Vogel, the committee's executive director, said in a statement. “This website is just another way that we are holding Republicans and their fringe groups accountable for trying anything and everything to protect the profitable status quo for big health insurance companies at the expense of affordable health care for families.”

But the GOP shows no signs of backing down.

Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele sent a "Dear Friend" fund-raising solicitation overnight, telling supporters that "Obama Democrats" are trying to demonize them as "right-wing extremists.

"We saw this sort of vitriolic rhetoric this past April when Democrats smugly dismissed grassroots protests against their out-of-control spending. These Tea Parties were ruthlessly mocked by the liberal elites and the mainstream media," Steele wrote.

"Now as public support for the Obama Democrats' government-run health care plan unravels, they're using this fear-and-smear tactic to silence ANY American who disagrees with their risky scheme to nationalize one-fifth of our economy and limit your health care choices. It's a page out of their standard playbook of name calling and outright lies to stifle all debate."

Bernie Sanders, the iconoclastic US senator from Vermont, is launching his own series of weekly "webisodes" where he will answer questions from constituents.

Sanders, the only avowed Socialist in Congress, is partnering with Brave New Films in the venture, called "Senator Sanders Unfiltered."

A trailer shows Sanders railing against greed and economic inequality, arguing that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are costing too much money, and assailing insurance companies for lobbying Congress to stop healthcare overhaul that provides universal, affordable coverage.

The first webisode will be available on his Senate website on Monday, then subsequent ones regularly on Thursdays.

Constituents can submit video questions via Twitter on twitvid.com by using the #sanders tag, and Sanders' office is encouraging them to share the trailer video via Facebook and other social networking sites.

The Democratic National Committee today launched a web ad slamming the GOP and allied conservative groups for sending activists to healthcare town halls where they are shouting questions and criticisms.

"The right wing extremist Republican base is back," the announcer intones, over scenes of disruptions at gatherings starting over the weekend as the battle over healthcare moves out of Congress and into home districts.

After losing congressional battles on the budget and after eight years of failed economic policies during the Bush administration, the narrator says, desperate Republicans are organizing "angry mobs."

"Their goal: Destroy President Obama and stop the change that Americans voted for overwhelmingly in November," the announcer says. "They have no plans for moving the country forward so they've called out the mob."

Michael Steele, a spokesman for House GOP leader John Boehner, responded to the ad:

"Out-of-touch Washington Democrats would love to blame their problems on Republicans, but they can't. Their problem in Washington is Democrats fighting against Democrats. Their problem across the country is Democrats fighting against the American people, by backing job-killing tax hikes and regulations in the middle of the deepest recession in decades."

UPDATE: The Republican National Committee also responded, sending out a list of polling results showing doubts about the Democrats' healthcare plans, and asserting that what Democrats call "mob rule" is merely small-d democracy.

"Today the White House and Democrats continue their callous and arrogant campaign to reduce the concerns and opinions of millions of Americans as 'manufactured' -- and have labeled them as 'angry mobs' and 'rabid extremists,' for voicing their opposition to President Obama’s government-run health care experiment," the RNC said.

"This 'mob' the Democrats are referring to include millions of American families, small business owners, doctors, veterans, seniors – and even House and Senate Democrats – who have real concerns over the president’s risky and costly government-run health care experiment. And they should be concerned – as this costly experiment will raise taxes without decreasing costs, increase the deficit, will lead to less choice and lower-quality health coverage.

"Before heading into recess, the Democrats should have read the dozens of public opinion polls showing that a majority of Americans believe President Obama’s government-run health care experiment is a bad idea. It’s no secret that Democrats aren’t even on board. Chaos in Washington has reigned over health care in the last several weeks. Are Democrats so out of touch that they are shocked to find concern among their constituents over their $1.6 trillion government-run health care experiment? Or are the Democrats once again waging a campaign of distraction to shift the focus away from their widely unpopular, big government policy?

"The bottom line? Americans, including Independents and some Democrats, do not like President Obama’s government-run health care experiment – and they are going to show up to say so. It’s called democracy."

Recent polls show that Americans are divided about the healthcare plans proposed by Obama and congressional Democrats. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released this morning found 50 percent backing Obama's plan, but 45 percent opposed.

While 30 percent said Obama's proposals would help them and 40 percent said it would help other families, 20 percent said the proposals would not help anyone.

In the survey, 71 percent said they were very likely or somewhat likely to attend a town hall even on healthcare hosted by their member of Congress.

As part of the counter-offensive, Obama's grassroots groups is organizing its own healthcare events and getting its members to the town halls.

"This is the moment our movement was built for," the president, himself, told Organizing for America supporters in an email this afternoon.

"For one month, the fight for health insurance reform leaves the backrooms of Washington, D.C., and returns to communities across America. Throughout August, members of Congress are back home, where the hands they shake and the voices they hear will not belong to lobbyists, but to people like you.

"Home is where we're strongest. We didn't win last year's election together at a committee hearing in D.C. We won it on the doorsteps and the phone lines, at the softball games and the town meetings, and in every part of this great country where people gather to talk about what matters most. And if you're willing to step up once again, that's exactly where we're going to win this historic campaign for the guaranteed, affordable health insurance that every American deserves.

"There are those who profit from the status quo, or see this debate as a political game, and they will stop at nothing to block reform. They are filling the airwaves and the internet with outrageous falsehoods to scare people into opposing change. And some people, not surprisingly, are getting pretty nervous. So we've got to get out there, fight lies with truth, and set the record straight."

Democrats are striking back at conservative groups that are taking the credit for helping opponents show up at healthcare meetings around the country.

Town halls with constituents hosted over the weekend by Representative Lloyd Doggett in Texas and by Senator Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania were disrupted by opponents of the healthcare overhaul plans promoted by President Obama and congressional Democrats.

The Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out missives today arguing that groups such as Conservatives for Patients' Rights and FreedomWorks and are creating fake grassroots enthusiasm -- "astroturf" in political circles -- by stacking meetings with outside activists.

"The Republicans and their allied groups - desperate after losing two consecutive elections and every major policy fight on Capitol Hill - are inciting angry mobs of a small number of rabid right wing extremists funded by K Street lobbyists to disrupt thoughtful discussions about the future of health care in America taking place in congressional districts across the country," DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse said in a statement this afternoon.

"However, much like we saw at the McCain-Palin rallies last year where crowds were baited with cries of 'socialist,' 'communist,' and where the birthers movement was born – these mobs of extremists are not interested in having a thoughtful discussion about the issues – but like some Republican leaders have said - they are interested in ‘breaking’ the president and destroying his presidency," Woodhouse added.

"These mobs are bussed in by well funded, highly organized groups run by Republican operatives and funded by the special interests who are desperately trying to stop the agenda for change the President was elected to bring to Washington. Despite the headline grabbing nature of these angry mobs and their disruptions of events, they are not reflective of where the American people are on the issues – or the hundreds of thousands of thoughtful discussions taking place around kitchen tables, water coolers and in homes. The right wing extremists’ use of things like devil horns on pictures of our elected officials, hanging members of Congress in effigy, breathlessly questioning the President's citizenship and the use of Nazi SS symbols and the like just shows how outside of the mainstream the Republican Party and their allies are. This type of anger and discord did not serve Republicans well in 2008 – and it is bound to backfire again."

The town hall episodes were discussed at a White House lunch today among Obama and Senate Democrats, said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

He said Obama won several standing ovations and gave a coach-like pep talk that revved up the rank-and-file.

"We're ready to take on the world," Reid told reporters.

Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut, who is shepherding healthcare legislation in the absence of Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, said that while senators want a bipartisan deal, time is of the essence.

During the monthlong recess that starts Friday, 500,000 more Americans will lose their health insurance, Dodd said.

"We need to come back with a renewed sense of purpose," he said.

With House members back in their districts, President Obama's grassroots group is airing radio ads pushing key representatives on healthcare and thanking others on the economic recovery package.

Organizing for America announced that the health ad, entitled "Standing Up," will run in 19 districts. Listen to it here.

The economic ad, entitled "To the Rescue," will run in four districts, the group said. Hear it here.

"These members have been part of one of the most ambitious, historic and successful opening months of a Congressional session in our nation's history," said OFA Director Mitch Stewart. "From expanding health insurance to millions of vulnerable children, to passing a recovery act that rescued our economy from certain disaster, to passing a budget that halves our deficit over the next decade while making critical investments in health care, energy and education, these members have all helped bring about the change President Obama promised to bring to Washington. They are now standing up to the special interests, the lobbyists and the naysayers and working for big solutions to our nation's toughest problems - including fixing a broken health insurance system that costs too much, leaves too many people lacking coverage and puts insurance industry profits ahead of patient care. Thanks to the support of these members and others like them - we will reform the health insurance system in this country and make other critical policy changes to get our economy back on track."

The group is up against conservative organizations that have been finding activists to attend town halls on healthcare that members of Congress have been having with their constituents.

Some members of Congress aren't exactly being welcomed home with open arms as they try to take the temperature of constituents on healthcare.

The New York Times reports that Representative Lloyd Doggett was shouted down by an angry crowd in Texas, who yelled, "Just Vote No."

And the Associated Press reports that Senator Arlen Specter and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius were booed and jeered at a healthcare town hall at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

Democratic congressional leaders and the White House were pushing for votes in the full House and Senate before the monthlong recess, in part because they knew that opponents would mobilize. The House adjourned last Friday after three committees passed legislation, and the Senate plans to go home this Friday after a second committee passes a plan.

Following up on a retreat with Cabinet officials and others over the weekend at the six-month mark of his new administration, President Obama plans to huddle Tuesday with all 60 Senate Democrats.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the unusual gathering is meant to take stock of where legislative priorities stand -- and two are likely to be at the forefront: healthcare overhaul, since a full Senate vote has been put off until after the August recess, and the "cash for clunkers" bill.

"I don't doubt that healthcare will be discussed," Gibbs said at his daily briefing. "I believe the economy will also be heavily discussed; the numbers that we've been talking about, numbers that we'll see throughout the week, unemployment, manufacturing reports -- just in general where the economy is. I think we'll probably -- they'll go through and discuss energy legislation.

Gibbs also said that a topic will be the House-passed bill to pump $2 billion more into the unexpectedly popular program giving car buyers stipends for trading in gas guzzlers for fuel-efficient vehicles. "Without some help from the Senate, in terms of moving the $2 billion from the Recovery and Reinvestment plan's energy efficiency programs into this account, [it] will likely mean that the program will have to be stopped by the end of the week.

Asked why Republicans weren't invited, Gibbs replied, "I would look at this as the president speaking to the Democratic caucus. They have a regularly scheduled caucus lunch that happens every Tuesday. It's just we're having that lunch here at the White House rather than up on Capitol Hill. So I think that explains talking to the -- to Senate Democrats."

With House members already back in their districts and senators in their last week before heading home for a month, a liberal-labor coalition pushing President Obama's healthcare overhaul is squarely on message with Democrats.

A new national cable TV ad unveiled today tries to put the focus on Big Insurance, which Democrats are increasingly targeting as they try to fend off criticism from Republicans about the overhaul's cost and complexity.

While Obama has promoted cooperation from insurers, they are opposing a public insurance option that the president and Democrats say is needed to control costs and offer consumers a choice of coverage.

"Why do the health insurance companies and Republicans want to kill President Obama’s health insurance reform?" the announcer asks in the 30-second spot. "Because they like things the way they are now."

The ad then pictures the CEO of one major insurer, as the announcer says, "Ed Hanway, CEO of insurance giant Cigna, makes $12. 2 million a year. That’s $5,883 an hour. Ed makes more in one day, than the average worker makes all year long."

"Now Ed’s retiring with a seventy three million dollar golden parachute," the announcer adds over an image of Hanway's face attached to a parachute and floating down. "The Republican prescription for the health insurance crisis – be as rich as Ed … you’ll be happy too."

UPDATE: Responding to the criticism from Democrats, namely House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Janet Trautwein, CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters, issued a statement.

"It's unfortunate that Speaker Pelosi has resorted to petty name-calling in the debate over health care reform. We all have a stake in achieving meaningful reform that both preserves Americans' freedom to choose their doctors and lowers long-term health care costs. A public option will accomplish neither," said Trautwein, whose group says it represents more than 100,000 licensed health insurance agents, brokers, consultants and benefit professionals nationwide.

"A new government-run health plan will raise costs for Americans with private insurance. By systematically underpaying doctors and hospitals, our country's existing public plans -- Medicare and Medicaid -- raise the average family's premiums by $1,800 a year. A public option will only exacerbate this problem -- and make insurance more expensive."

Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney agree in their disdain for the healthcare overhaul plan Democrats and President Obama are trying to push through.

But they have been sparring in recent days over the right approach -- a preview, perhaps, of the 2012 Republican presidential sweepstakes.

The Minnesota governor and former Massachusetts governor, who were both on Senator John McCain's short list for vice president last year, both appear to be laying the groundwork for possible 2012 bids.

Pawlenty, in an opinion piece published in the Washington Post over the weekend and in a letter last week to Minnesota's congressional delegation, not surprisingly promoted his state's plan.

"In Minnesota, our state employee health-care plan has demonstrated incredible results by linking outcomes to value. State employees in Minnesota can choose any clinic available to them in the health-care network they've selected. However, individuals who use more costly and less-efficient clinics are required to pay more out-of-pocket," he wrote.

But more interestingly, he took some pointed swipes at the healthcare overhaul in Massachusetts, one of Romney's biggest accomplishments as governor, though he ran away from the parts most objectionable to conservatives during his presidential campaign.

"Massachusetts's experience should caution Congress against focusing primarily on access. While the Massachusetts plan has reduced the number of uninsured people, costs have been dramatically higher than expected. The result? Increased taxes and fees. The Boston Globe has reported on a current short-term funding gap and the need to obtain a new federal bailout," Pawlenty wrote in the Post. "Imagine the scope of tax increases, or additional deficit spending, if that approach is utilized for the entire country."

Romney, in an op-ed piece in USA Today, even as he accused Obama from rushing through a bad plan, defended the Massachusetts plan against Pawlenty's critique.

"Massachusetts also proved that you don't need government insurance. Our citizens purchase private, free-market medical insurance. There is no "public option." With more than 1,300 health insurance companies, a federal government insurance company isn't necessary. It would inevitably lead to massive taxpayer subsidies, to lobbyist-inspired coverage mandates and to the liberals' dream: a European-style single-payer system. To find common ground with skeptical Republicans and conservative Democrats, the president will have to jettison left-wing ideology for practicality and dump the public option," Romney wrote.

"When our bill passed three years ago, the legislature projected that our program would cost $725 million in 2009. At $723 million, next year's forecast is pretty much on target. When you calculate all the savings, including that from the free hospital care we eliminated, the net cost to the state is approximately $350 million. The watchdog Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation concluded that our program's cost is 'relatively modest' and 'well within initial projections.' "

In his healthcare pitch, President Obama has been trying to explain in simple terms the benefits to patients and consumers.

But a new Republican web video, released today by House GOP leader John Boehner, tries to use some of his own words against him, raising the specter of government control of the care that people would receive.

Over the strains of the theme song from the long-running daytime soap "Young and the Restless," a pitchman circa 1970s says, "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV."

The video then shows Obama suggesting that if a blue pill is the half the price of the red pill and does the same thing, maybe patients should take the blue pill. It also shows him positing that drugs might be better than surgery.

On screen at the end is a faux prescription form headlined "Obamacare." "We aren't doctors, but we know what's best for you."

Democratic National Committee spokesman Hari Sevugan responded to Boehner's video:
"John Boehner isn't an insurance company executive, but he sure plays one in the U.S. House of Representatives. That's the only explanation for admittedly working to 'kill' health insurance reform while premiums for the average American family are rising three times faster than their wages, while small businesses are choosing between offering coverage and creating jobs, and when controlling runaway health care costs is necessary to get the economy fully back on track. John Boehner and the Republicans that would follow him may not officially be insurance agents, but in working to 'kill' reform they are proving that they are certainly agents of the status quo."

President Obama said new, better-than-expected gross domestic product numbers show that the country is headed in the right direction, and that "the recession we faced when I took office was even deeper than anyone thought at the time."

The president also said the massive, $700 billion economic stimulus package "helped pull the nation back from the brink."

The economy "has done measurably better that we had thought -- better than expected. And as many economists will tell you, that part of the progress is directly attributable to the Recovery Act," Obama said this afternoon. "This and other difficult but important steps that we've taken over the last six months have helped us put the brakes on the recession."

But the president added that the good economic news is cold comfort for those withouth jobs and families struggling to make ends meet.

"When we receive our monthly jobs report next week, it's likely to show that we're still continuing to lose far too many jobs. As far as I'm concerned, we won't have a recovery as long as we keep losing jobs," Obama said. "And I will not rest until every American who wants a job can find one."

Nevertheless, "history does show that you need to have economic growth before you have job growth," Obama said. "And today's GDP is an important sign that the economy is headed in the right direction and that business investment, which had been plummeting in the last several months, is showing signs of stabilizing. This means that eventually, businesses will start growing and they'll start hiring again. And that's when it will truly feel like a recovery to the American people."

The Commerce Department reported that the economy shrank by 1 percent in the second quarter of the year, giving hope that the longest recession since World War II is easing.

"Obviously that's the right direction," Christina Romer, one of the president's top economic advisers, said on MSNBC. "We've got a long way to go."

The revised number in the first quarter was down 6.4 percent, the biggest decline in nearly three decades -- showing that the recession was even worse than believed at the time and proving that the $787 billion stimulus plan and other government spending was necessary, said Romer, chairwoman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

"We absolutely had to rescue this economy," she said.

For the economy to truly rebound, she said, there needs to be 2 percent to 3 percent real growth.

Obama and Romer also tried to reassure Americans that one initiative won't be a victim of its own success.

The "cash for clunkers" program has been so popular that consumers have already emptied the $1 billion fund.

"Not more than a few weeks ago, there were skeptics who weren't sure that this "Cash for Clunkers" program would work," Obama said. "But I'm happy to report that it has succeeded well beyond our expectations and all expectations, and we're already seeing a dramatic increase in showroom traffic at local car dealers."

"And I'm encouraged that Republicans and Democrats in the House are working to pass legislation today that would use some Recovery Act funding to keep this program going -- funding that we would work to replace down the road," the president said. "Thanks to quick bipartisan responses, we're doing everything possible to continue this program and to continue helping consumers and the auto industry contribute to our recovery."

"If you wanted to buy a car this weekend, go do it," Romer told Reuters Television. "The program is still there. It has not been suspended, and I can tell you there is a real flurry of activity working with the agencies, the Congress, to ensure we can continue this and get the funds there."

The Associated Press is reporting that Democrats in both the House and Senate are exploring votes as early as today to add $2 billion into the rebate program.

Representative Sander Levin of Michigan revealed the bill after he and other lawmakers were assured by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that the program would continue at least through today while the Obama administration looked for more money, the AP says.

President Obama this evening lauded the House for passing a sweeping food safety bill designed to prevent repeats of the wide outbreak of salmonella in peanuts that killed at least nine Americans.

The legislation approved today over objections from some farm-state lawmakers would require more government inspections of manufacturers, give the Food and Drug Administration new powers to order recalls, and require the FDA to develop a system for better tracing food-borne illnesses.

"This action represents a major step forward in modernizing our food safety system and protecting Americans from foodborne illness," Obama said in a statement. "Those are the goals of the Food Safety Working Group I convened in March and charged with making recommendations to improve our food safety system. And that is why we announced a new rule to control Salmonella contamination in eggs and are working to reduce the presence of harmful pathogens such as E. coli in meat and produce; strengthen our capacity to trace the source of outbreaks; and update our emergency operations procedures.

"I commend the House of Representatives for its action today and look forward to working with the Senate to enact critical food safety legislation.”

The House today confirmed a key victory for President Obama's bid to get a handle on Pentagon spending, joining the Senate to kill additional funding for F-22 fighters.

The 269-165 vote against building more of the top-line Air Force combat jets, on top of the 187 in the pipeline, followed a similar Senate vote last week on the $600-plus billion defense funding bill.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates put the hard sell to persuade lawmakers to reject expanding the F-22 program, over objections from members of Congress who wanted to protect jobs supported by the program. Obama has threatened to veto a defense bill that include the money.

The White House and Pentagon say the F-22 -- designed for aerial dogfights with Soviet jets during the Cold War -- is not suited to the military's current needs, pointing out that it has never been deployed over Iraq or Afghanistan.

But despite veto threats, the $636 billion Pentagon spending bill passed by a 400-30 vote includes money for other programs Obama didn't want, including a much-criticized new presidential helicopter fleet, cargo jets, and an alternative engine for the next-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Associated Press reports.

President Obama's special envoy to Sudan told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today that US sanctions on the country as a state sponsor of terror is hurting efforts to bring peace and ease suffering in the war-torn nation.

Scott Gration called the sanctions a "political decision" and said that the United States was going to have to "unwind" them.

Advocacy groups for the people of Darfur, where hundreds of thousands have been made refugees or killed, were cautious in their reaction.

"We were encouraged to hear unequivocally from Gen. Gration that he and the Obama administration are pursuing a balanced approach which includes both carrots and sticks as levers to change Khartoum's behavior," Jerry Fowler, president of the Save Darfur Coalition, said in a statement. "We are, however, seriously doubtful of Khartoum's true intention and ability to make good on their promises, and urge Senators to follow up swiftly with Gen. Gration on the classified details of this plan to ensure that it's sufficiently robust to get the job done."

Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, the committee's chairman, also called for a comprehensive approach.

"Many discussions of US-Sudan policy here in Washington continue to center on the question of whether we should use carrots versus sticks -- i.e. rewards or punishments -- to influence Sudan’s leaders in Khartoum.
When I visited Sudan in April of this year, I came away convinced that we need to build a strategic framework that moves beyond simple oppositions like carrots versus sticks or the South versus Darfur. Instead, we need a nuanced, comprehensive strategy for Sudan as a whole," Kerry said in remarks opening the hearing.

His full prepared remarks are below:

President Obama takes his healthcare road show today to two Southern states that proved pivotal to his election in November.

And with healthcare overhaul bills mired in legislative muck and public support dropping, he's retooling his message to speak directly to consumers.

The president held a town hall at Broughton High School in Raleigh, N.C., then another Q&A with employees at the Kroger supermarket in Bristol, Va. Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win both states in more than a generation, contributing to his electoral landslide.

In his primetime news conference last week and in appearances since, Obama has reached out to Americans who already have insurance or Medicare, trying to reassure them that they won't be hurt by the overhaul, either by losing care or getting smacked by higher costs.

Today, in both stops, he stressed the protections for consumers that he will insist be in any overhaul bill.

"First of all, nobody is talking about some government takeover of healthcare," Obama told the crowd in Raleigh. "I'm tired of hearing that.... Under the reform I’ve proposed, if you like your doctor, you keep your doctor. If you like your healthcare plan, you keep your healthcare plan. These folks need to stop scaring everybody."

"But what a lot of the chatter out there hasn’t focused on is the fact that if you’ve got health insurance, the reform we’re proposing will also help you because it will provide more stability and security," he added. "Because the truth is, we have a system today that works well for the insurance industry, but it doesn’t always work well for you. What we need, and what we will have when we pass these reforms, are health insurance consumer protections to make sure that those who have insurance are treated fairly and insurance companies are held accountable."

(His full remarks and answers to questions are are below.)

The consumer protections include:

-- Banning insurance companies for refusing to offer coverage due to pre-existing medical conditions.

-- Capping how much insurers can charge annually for out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles, or co-pays.

-- Requiring insurers to fully cover regular check-ups and tests, including mammograms and eye and foot exams for diabetics.

-- Prohibiting insurers from dropping or reducing coverage for those who become seriously ill.

-- Banning insurers from charging people based on gender.

-- Stopping insurance companies from placing annual or lifetime caps on benefits.

-- Making sure that young adults as old as 26 can be covered under family insurance policies.

-- Requiring insurers to renew policies as long as premiums are paid in full, even if the policyholder becomes ill.

Obama, en route to Virginia, issued a statement noting the progress in Congress today.

In the Senate, key negotiators said they had pared the costs of a plan to cover 95 percent of Americans by 2015 to about $900 billion over 10 years, putting the price tag under the unofficial $1 trillion target the White House has set. In the House, the leadership, the White House, and fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats worked out a deal that will allow a bill to move forward in committee, but will delay a floor vote until September.

“I want to thank the members of both the Senate and House of Representatives for continuing their work on health reform to provide more stability and security for Americans who have insurance, and quality, affordable coverage for those who don’t," Obama said. "I’m especially grateful that so many members, including some Blue Dogs on the Energy and Commerce Committee, are working so hard to find common ground. Those efforts are extraordinarily constructive in strengthening this legislation and bringing down its cost.”

Another poll out this afternoon says that Americans are divided about Obama's healthcare plan.

In the Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey, 46 percent said they disapprove of Obama’s handling of healthcare, while 41 percent approved and 13 percent weren’t sure.

The Journal says those numbers are similar to former President Bill Clinton's of 52 percent disapproval and 40 percent approval in July 1994 before his healthcare overhaul plan crashed and burned in Congress.

UPDATE: Republicans, however, are still opposed to the Democratic bills, and House Republicans introduced a plan today that relies on tax credits to help people buy insurance and that also addresses medical malpractice reform.

The top House Republican, John Boehner of Ohio, said on CNN this afternoon that the legislation would create "a giant government bureaucracy that's going to drive up the cost of health care, drive up the cost of health insurance, deny millions of Americans their choice of doctor, and eventually lead to rationing of health care in America. This is not the kind of plan that Americans want."

"I believe that it's time to hit the reset button," Boehner added. "Let's scrap this plan. Let's sit down in a bipartisan way. And let's build on the current system, which is the envy of the world.

"You know, 93 percent of the American people have access to high quality, affordable health insurance. Let's help them be able to hold on to that, reduce the cost of it, and expand access to those Americans who don't have good access."

With Republicans citing the continuing economic distress to bash the economic stimulus plan pushed through by President Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress, the Democratic National Committee is hitting back with a media campaign blaming Republicans for creating the mess to begin with.

In a new TV ad announced today, the DNC goes after the top four congressional Republicans -- Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Jon Kyl of Arizona, and Representatives John Boehner of Ohio and Eric Cantor of Virginia -- by saying they "supported the Bush policies that sank our economy into recession. They broke it - now they refuse to fix it."

"Tell Republicans to stop playing politics with our economy," the announcer urges viewers.

Besides the media campaign, the DNC is organizing news conferences or conference calls with reporters in their home states this week with local elected officials and others to testify to the impact of the $787 billion stimulus plan. Not a single House Republican voted for it, and only a handful of Senate Republicans did.

"Republicans supported the policies that sank our economy into the worst recession in nearly a century and have refused to work with President Obama to turn things around," DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse said in a statement. "They followed Rush Limbaugh and played politics with the Recovery Act - and now that it is showing signs of progress - they are distorting the truth about its success so no one will notice that they were the ones who got it wrong before and who are getting it wrong now. In each of these states there are real projects, providing and saving real jobs and laying a foundation for long-term economic growth. The Republican leadership may not want to admit the truth because it will expose their own mistakes and hypocrisy, but we're not going to hesitate setting the record straight."

UPDATE: Obama, himself, addressed what he called "a lot of misinformation out there" about the stimulus bill, which he said has helped stem job losses though "the tough times aren't over."

"Let me just lay out the facts," he said in a town hall in Raleigh, N.C., today, saying he had passed protestors on the way to the event: "Roughly a quarter of the Recovery Act’s funding has been committed, over 30,000 projects have been approved, and thousands have been posted online."

One-third of the money is going to tax cuts for families and small businesses, another third is for emergency relief including unemployment benefits, and the final third is for investments such as infrastructure projects, he said.

"Now, I know that some critics in Washington ... they are saying we’ve been slow to get these projects started. They are saying we should have broken ground on all our highway projects on the first day. That’s impossible, especially because I wanted to be sure we did our homework and invested tax dollars only in those projects that actually created jobs and jump-started our economy. We knew it would take a few months for these projects to get online," he said.

"So it will take time to achieve a complete recovery, we're not going to rest until anyone who’s looking for work can find a job. But there should be little debate that the steps we took, taken together, have helped stop our economic freefall."

President Obama reached out this afternoon to a key constituency on his healthcare overhaul plan, seeking support from the 55-plus set.

"We've got to get a better bang for our healthcare dollar," he told a town hall hosted by the AARP.

There needs to more preventive care, and unnecessary subsidies need to be taken away from Medicare providers, the president said.

But, he pledged, "We certainly won't cut corners to cut costs. That doesn't work."

(His full remarks and answers are below.)

The town hall was Obama's latest event in an aggressive push to get a healthcare bill signed this year.

UPDATE: Representative Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, dismissed Obama's pitch.

"I heard what the President was saying, and frankly, he hasn't said anything different today than what he said at last week's press conference," he said on CNN. "The fact is that most Americans are very concerned about what they are learning of the Obama health care reform bill. I don't think that the people of this country feel it is appropriate for us to hear the President say, you know, ‘It's my way or the highway.’ There are plenty of other approaches and I think we can gain a comfort level if we take the time to get it right and not say that we must have full-on this government takeover of our health care system.”

Liberal and labor groups who favor the healthcare overhaul plans of President Obama and congressional Democrats don't have the airwaves to themselves.

Groups opposed to healthcare "reform" are also airing ads on cable TV, trying to win the hearts and minds of the public as negotiations continue in Congress.

Here's one from the conservative Patients United Now that questions the rush to action in Congress.

And here's one from Conservatives for Patients' Rights, which asserts that Americans could be squeezed by the healthcare bill four different ways: higher taxes, a bigger federal deficit, increased insurance premiums, and more government control of healthcare.

A pro-Democratic labor coalition has a reply to Republicans who say the healthcare overhaul push in too much, too fast.

The new cable TV spot released this morning by Americans United for Change says that by calling for delay, Republicans are really trying to kill reform, again.

"The Republicans claim the health insurance reform debate has been moving at lightning speed," the announcer says over an animated snail inching past sign posts starting with the year 1993. "In fact for 15 years, it’s hardly moved at all. Meanwhile premiums have gone up 3 times faster than wages, health insurance profits have soared and 14,000 Americans lose their health insurance everyday."

"Now the Republicans say Congress should slow down? That’s because when something goes slow enough it’s easy to kill it dead in its tracks," the announcer says as a dress shoe squashes the snail.

"Tell Congress you want health insurance reform now," the announcer concludes.

Another liberal group, MoveOn.org, also has a new healthcare ad up.

This one goes after Republicans, quoting them as saying they want to defeat President Obama on the issue, including Senator Jim DeMint's much-cited remark that healthcare could be Obama's "Waterloo."

While Obama is pushing reform, Republicans are "doing nothing -- actually worse than nothing" by turning the issue into a political football, the announcer says as a football is shown spiraling through the air -- then shattering a window.

"Tell Congress this isn't a game," the narrator concludes.

The Democratic National Committee piled on this afternoon with a web video of its own, hammering Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell for claiming that every GOP senators favors a healthcare bill. Titled "Are you serious?" the ad argues that Republicans have showed they don't want change.

“The Republican playbook on health insurance reform is now plainly clear and it’s well past time for Mitch McConnell to acknowledge that his Party’s strategy is to try and use the health insurance reform debate to score a political win on the backs of struggling American families and small businesses. Now that members of his own caucus are stating publicly their desire to see the President ‘fail’, McConnell’s attempts to profess bipartisanship are falling more than a little flat,” DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse said in a statement.

“The status quo that the Republican Party is championing is breaking American families, small businesses and state budgets across the nation and only stands to get far worse in the years ahead if nothing is done - as they propose. By standing in the way of health insurance reform, Republicans are protecting their special interest friends and ignoring their duty to serve the interests of their constituents.”

Americans United for Change also launched a radio spot on nine Maine stations today aiming at persuading Senator Olympia Snowe, a key moderate Republican, to support the healthcare bill.

“Americans have been waiting for meaningful health care reform since Truman was president and. Sen. Snowe is a critical voice on the Senate Finance Committee,” Frank Gallagher, the Maine state director of Americans United for Change, said in a statement. “Health care is not going to reform itself. The insurance industry will not suddenly stop lobbying to kill reform or quit raising our premiums, and the Republican leadership has stated repeatedly that they are actively trying to kill it. Sen. Snowe has a long record of going against her party’s leadership to do what’s right for Maine. It’s time for her to do that again.”

Senator John F. Kerry's office announced today that he’s joining forces with the Discovery Channel to help end the illegal practice of shark finning.

Throughout the channel's 22nd annual "Shark Week" of programming, it will run public service announcements and push an online petition to support a bill Kerry introduced in April that would close a loophole for shark fin transport and strengthen enforcement to ensure sharks are transported with their fins attached.

In shark finning, fisherman slice off a shark’s fin primarily for use in shark fin soup. But critics say the practice has led to a seventy-five percent decrease in certain shark populations over the last fifteen years.

“Huge demands on the foreign fin trade have fueled massive population declines and a serious disruption of our waters,” Kerry said in a statement. “We need much stronger solutions to finally end this illicit trade, and current protections haven’t gotten the job done. We need to get serious, and I’m thrilled to see Discovery Channel’s willingness to roll up its sleeves and help get the job done.”

The letter from Discovery Channel to Kerry is below:

Democrats kept up their assault on Republicans on healthcare, announcing a new national TV ad today calling them out for trying to stop healthcare overhaul.

The ad asserts that without sweeping change, insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses will continue rising and more people will be denied coverage at all.

"Tell Republicans the cost of doing nothing is just too high," the spot concludes.

“For eight years the Republican Party ignored skyrocketing health insurance costs and American families and small businesses paid a devastating price for their negligence. Now, the ‘Party of NO’ admits their true intention is to ‘kill’ health insurance reform, putting their special interest friends over the people they were elected to serve. Already, families across the country are faced with insurmountable burdens: premiums that are rising at a rate three times faster than wages, insurance companies who are free to deny coverage to those who need health care the most, and rapidly rising co-pays that are forcing families to choose between paying their mortgage and paying their health care bills,” Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse said in a statement.

“The status quo that the Republican Party is championing is breaking American families, small businesses and state budgets across the nation and only stands to get far worse in the years ahead if nothing is done - as they propose. And still, the GOP continues to see health insurance reform as an opportunity to score a political win for their ailing party. This time, however, the stakes are too high, the cost of doing nothing too great, for the Republican Party to engage in the same partisan political games we’ve come to expect from them.”

President Obama hit the road again today in his healthcare push, going to Cleveland to tour a clinic he calls a model for the nation and meet the public in a campaign-style appearance at a high school.

UPDATE: In his opening remarks before taking questions from the audience at Shaker Heights High, Obama reprised his campaign mantra of change.

"I know there are those who like to focus on the political back-and-forth in Washington," he said. "But my only concern is the people who sent us there: the families feeling the pain of this recession; the folks I’ve met across this country who have lost jobs and savings and health insurance, but haven’t lost hope; the citizens who defied the cynics and the skeptics -- who went to the polls to demand real and lasting change. This change was the cause of my campaign, and it is the cause of my presidency."

He continued trying to reassure Americans who like their current insurance, while promising improvements.

"I want to be clear: reform isn’t just about the nearly 46 million Americans without health insurance.... If you already have health insurance, the reform we're proposing will give you more security. It will keep the government out of your health care decisions, giving you the option to keep your coverage if you’re happy with it....And it will keep the insurance companies out of your health care decisions, too, by stopping insurers from cherry-picking who they cover, and holding insurers to higher standards for what they cover," he said.

"You won’t have to worry about receiving a surprise bill in the mail, because we’ll limit the amount your insurance company can force you to pay out of your own pocket. You won’t have to worry about pre-existing conditions, because never again will anyone in America be denied coverage because of a previous illness or injury. And you won’t have to worry about losing coverage if you lose or leave your job, because every American who needs insurance will have access to affordable plans through a health insurance exchange, a marketplace where insurance companies will compete to cover you, not to deny you coverage."

Obama also took on his Republican critics, including GOP chairman Michael Steele for saying that the healthcare overhaul was happening too soon.

"I think that's a little odd. We’ve been talking about health reform since the days of Harry Truman. How can it be too soon?" Obama asked, increduously.

"I don’t think it’s too soon for the families who’ve seen their premiums rise faster than wages year after year. It’s not too soon for the businesses forced to drop coverage or shed workers because of mounting healthcare expenses. It’s not too soon for taxpayers asked to close widening deficits that stem from rising healthcare costs, costs that threaten to leave our children with a mountain of debt," the president added.

"Reform may be coming too soon for some in Washington, but it’s not soon enough for the American people."

(His full remarks are below, along with the question-and-answer session.)

But it doesn't appear the overhaul will happen as fast as Obama wants.

The top Democrat in the Senate said today that his chamber won't vote until after the August recess -- and beyond Obama's hoped-for timetable.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters that the Senate Finance Committee will act on its portion of the bill before the monthlong break, but the bill won't be combined with separate legislation passed by the Senate health committee and sent to the full Senate until September, after the recess.

Reid said the decision to delay a vote was made Wednesday night in the hopes of getting a final bipartisan bill, the Associated Press reports.

Obama downplayed the Senate delay. "That's OK, I just want people to keep working," he said, departing from his prepared remarks and saying he still wants a bill on his desk this year.

"I don't want a delay just because of politics," he told the town hall crowd.

Earlier, Obama toured the Cleveland Clinic, which in his prime-time news conference on Wednesday he said has "set up a system where patient care is the number-one concern, not bureaucracy, what forms have to be filled out, what do we get reimbursed for.

"Those are changes that I think the American people want to see," he added. "....Cleveland Clinic is simply a role model for some of the kind of changes that we want to see.

He said he wasn't expecting an endorsement from the clinic for his healthcare overhaul plan.

But he also probably doesn't want a slap, either, as Democrats received on Monday from the Mayo Clinic, another

The famous nonprofit clinic in Minnesota said Monday that the House Democratic plan "misses the opportunity to help create higher quality, more affordable health care for patients."
"In fact, it will do the opposite," clinic officials said, because the proposals aren't focused enough on patients and results. "The real losers will be the citizens of the United States."
Republicans eagerly jumped on the statement to bash Democrats, but the clinic signed on Wednesday to a more measured letter to Congress. (Read it here.)

"I think it's important to note that the Mayo Clinic was initially critical and concerned about whether there were enough changes in the delivery system and cost-saving measures in the original House bill," Obama said Wednesday night.

"After they found out that we had put forward very specific mechanisms for this MedPAC idea, this idea of experts getting the politics out of health care and making decisions based on the best evidence out there, they wrote in their blog the very next day that we actually think this would make a difference. Okay?"

President Obama, seeking public support for his healthcare plan, is trying tonight to answer a key question on the minds of Americans: What's in it for me?

"I realize that with all the charges and criticisms being thrown around in Washington, a lot of Americans may be wondering, “What’s in this for me? How does my family stand to benefit from health insurance reform?' ” he said, opening his fourth primetime news conference at a pivotal moment early in his presidency.

"Tonight I want to answer those questions. Because even though Congress is still working through a few key issues, we already have rough agreement on the following areas: If you already have health insurance, the reform we’re proposing will provide you with more security and more stability. It will keep government out of healthcare decisions, giving you the option to keep your insurance if you’re happy with it. It will prevent insurance companies from dropping your coverage if you get too sick. It will give you the security of knowing that if you lose your job, if you move, or if you change your job, you will still be able to have coverage. It will limit the amount your insurance company can force you to pay for your medical costs out of your own pocket. And it will cover preventive care like check-ups and mammograms that save lives and money.

"Now, if you don’t have health insurance, or are a small business looking to cover your employees, you’ll be able to choose a quality, affordable health plan through a health insurance exchange -- a marketplace that promotes choice and competition. Finally, no insurance company will be allowed to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition," Obama said to a nationwide television audience.

"I have also pledged that health insurance reform will not add to our deficit over the next decade -- and I mean it."

The president also asserted that health reform is "central" to rebuilding the US economy "stronger than before."

"This is not just about the 47 million Americans who don't have any health insurance at all. Reform is about every American who has ever feared that they may lose their coverage if they become too sick, or lose their job, or change their job. It’s about every small business that has been forced to lay off employees or cut back on their coverage because it became too expensive. And it’s about the fact that the biggest driving force behind our federal deficit is the skyrocketing cost of Medicare and Medicaid.

"So let me be clear: If we do not control these costs, we will not be able to control our deficit. If we do not reform healthcare, your premiums and out-of-pocket costs will continue to skyrocket. If we don't act, 14,000 Americans will continue to lose their health insurance every single day. These are the consequences of inaction. These are the stakes of the debate that we’re having right now.

He also took on his critics directly, accusing them of putting political games ahead of the country.

"I understand how easy it is for this town to become consumed in the game of politics -- to turn every issue into a running tally of who’s up and who’s down. I’ve heard that one Republican strategist told his party that even though they may want to compromise, it’s better politics to 'go for the kill.' Another Republican senator said that defeating health reform is about 'breaking' me," he said.

"So let me be clear: This isn’t about me. I have great health insurance, and so does every member of Congress. This debate is about the letters I read when I sit in the Oval Office every day, and the stories I hear at town hall meetings….This debate is not a game for these Americans, and they can't afford to wait any longer for reform. They are counting on us to get this done. They are looking to us for leadership. And we can't let them down. We will pass reform that lowers cost, promotes choice, and provides coverage that every American can count on. And we will do it this year."

(His full prepared remarks are below.)

Asked first which specific proposals being talked about in Congress he would support, especially on financing, Obama declined, instead outlining broad principles.

After finding as much savings as possible, he said he proposed what he believed would work best -- limiting income tax deductions for higher-earning families -- but Congress has not accepted that idea. He said he was not foreclosing other options, as long as they don't burden middle-class families. "I want to wait to see what emerges from these committees," he said.

Obama said he understands public skepticism, given the recent history of what Washington has produced.

But if the country just reduced healthcare costs by $2,000 or $3,000 a year -- not the $6,000 difference between the United States and other Western countries -- the help for most families would be significant, he said.

Asked why he was pressing so hard for Congress to act before the August recess, he said he is "rushed" because he gets letters from families every day who say they are being "clobbered by healthcare costs."

"In a country like ours, that's not right," he said.

He also said that without deadlines, nothing happens in Washington. "Inertia is the default position," he added, because change always upsets one special interest or another.

But he also said he won't sign a bill that isn't ready, just to meet a deadline.

"I do think it's important to get this right," he said.

Asked whether the health overhaul will cover all 47 million uninsured, he replied, "I want to cover everybody."

But he acknowledged that without a single-payer system where all Americans are automatically enrolled, some will choose not to get insurance even if they are required to do so and even if there are subsidies, so some will go uncovered.

A good plan should cover 97 or 98 percent of the population, he said.

Asked about infighting among Democrats and whether they would be to blame if a bill isn't passed, Obama said there are legitimate regional differences and concerns. "This is part of the normal give and take of the legislative process," he said.

He also said that Republicans have good ideas that should be incorporated and named in particular Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Olympia Snowe of Maine for their contributions to the bill drafting.

Asked about what sacrifices Americans would have to make to cut healthcare spending, Obama said they would have to give up care that doesn't make them healthier, such as unnecessary tests. "You're wasting money," he said. "We just can't afford what we're doing right now."

He did not touch the controversial issue of healthcare rationing, such as limiting the amount of care for the terminally ill.

He hit back at those who say the healthcare proposals would worsen the record federal deficits. Directly addressing those in the public who he said had been "ginned up" by the accusations, he said that he inherited the vast majority of the deficit and that healthcare reform "is designed to lower it."

Asked about whether he is violating a pledge on openness on the healthcare deliberations and other issues, Obama rejected the charge. He said that the identities of health executives visiting the White House have been public and that the kickoff healthcare event was televised on C-SPAN.

Asked by a reporter for a newspaper in Cleveland, where Obama plans a town hall on Thursday, about the public insurance option, the president said it would be similar to what members of Congress get.

He repeated that the public plan is needed to keep private insurers honest, saying that several firms recently reported record profits even as families pay more for their care.

Asked by the same reporter whether he would accept the public plan, Obama said he would, but pointed out that as president, a White House doctor follows him everywhere.

The political skirmishes and name-calling over healthcare show no signs of ending.

Senator Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican -- who raised President Obama's hackles by saying that a defeat on healthcare could be the "Waterloo" for his presidency -- didn't back down today. He might have upped the ante, saying it's time to "put the brakes" on Obama because he is on a dangerous spending spree.

"It's not personal," DeMint said this morning on NBC's "Today" show. "We've got to stop his politics."

UPDATE: Going after DeMint, the Democratic National Committee unveiled a hard-hitting TV ad this afternoon that will run in Washington and his home state.

"Jim DeMint will break families & small businesses," the ad says. "Putting special interests first, putting South Carolina last."

"The only health care plan Jim DeMint supports is no plan at all," the ad concludes.

“The politicization of health care reform by Senator Jim DeMint and Republicans is a desperate and shameful ploy by the ‘Party of NO’ to score a political win on the backs of struggling American families and small businesses," DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse said in a statement. "What’s worse is that this strategy originates from the same Republican Party who ignored health care reform for the past eight years, letting costs spiral out of control while protecting their special interest friends."

Representative Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, continued his assault with a web video that accuses Obama and congressional Democrats of jeopardizing the healthcare system.

Democrats "are in a hurry, a reckless rush and still can't answer some fundamental questions," the announcer says, including how much the overhaul would cost. The video also accuses Obama of opening the door to reneging on his pledge not to raise taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 a year, though Democratic plans don't propose that.

“We won't be lectured by Eric Cantor and Republicans on being reckless," responded Democratic National Committee spokesman Hari Sevugan. "While the President is offering a constructive way forward to get something done after we've been trying to reform health care for decades, Eric Cantor and Republicans are offering nothing more than partisan obstruction, the status quo and more cries of ‘NO.’

“What's reckless is saying you want to ‘kill’ health care reform when American families have seen 80 percent hikes in premiums this decade alone. What's reckless is saying you want to ‘break’ the President on health care when small business are going broke paying for insurance. What Eric Cantor and the Republican Party don't understand is that the most reckless thing we can do, as they propose, is nothing.”

The Republican National Committee is up with a web video of its own, a take-off on those TV ads for all kinds of prescription drugs.

With idyllic images of couples frolicking in fields of flowers, the video says that Obama and Democrats are trying to sell "Reforma" on healthcare.

But it warns of dangerous side effects, including government control of healthcare, higher medical costs, and bureaucratic gridlock.

"Not recommended for people who may need actual medical care," it says.

President Obama has been battered in recent weeks by Republicans over the ballooning federal deficit, which this year is already well past the previous record.

So this afternoon he quickly lauded the House vote for so-called pay-as-you-go legislation that would require Congress and the president to offset new tax cuts or new benefit programs with tax increases or spending cuts elsewhere in the budget. If the law is broken, automatic spending cuts would kick in to make up the difference.

“With this vote, the House of Representatives demonstrated strong support for fiscal discipline. I appreciate the House’s quick response to my call for pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) legislation, a central budget-reform priority," Obama said in a statement.

“Let me be clear: all new mandatory initiatives and all new tax cuts must be paid for. It is time to stop the practice of passing today’s costs onto future generations. PAYGO was a driving principle behind the move from deficit to surplus in the 1990s, and must be so again today.

“For several years, the federal government was stalled in a pattern of fiscal irresponsibility. No more. We are making tough decisions on funding priorities. We are tackling the biggest threats to our long-term fiscal stability. And we are restoring greater discipline to how we spend taxpayers’ dollars.

“I thank Speaker Pelosi and Leader Hoyer, Chairman Spratt and Chairman Miller, Representatives Hill, Cooper, Boyd, and Welch, the Blue Dog coalition, and all of the 167 cosponsors of the PAYGO legislation. We will continue to work together to strengthen fiscal discipline. I urge the Senate to approve PAYGO so I can sign this bill into law this year.”

It's like most national elections -- when Massachusetts is a slam dunk for Democrats, so activists instead go to more competitive states to make a difference.

With both Democratic Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry of Massachusetts firmly on board with the healthcare overhaul, President Obama's grassroots supporters in the Bay State are being urged to help sway Maine's two Republican senators, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, who are key moderates in the debate.

Organizing for America sent an email this afternoon with a link and encouragement to call voters in Maine and get them to call Collins and Snowe.

"With the health care debate coming down to the wire in Congress, we need every vote we can get. Both of your Massachusetts senators are fighting hard for reform, but the two senators from nearby Maine -- Senator Olympia Snowe and Senator Susan Collins -- are under tremendous pressure to cave to special interests. They need to hear from constituents who want them to stand with the President -- and you can help," wrote Jeremy Bird, deputy director of Organizing for America.

"There are voters in Maine who want to fix our health care system as much as you do, and they may not know how much power they have to make it happen. Let them know, and help bring our country one big step closer to the reform we need."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, trying to rally her troops and help President Obama on his healthcare push, is holding a news conference this morning to brag on the House Democratic bill.

She brought with her "real Americans," including a cancer patient from Norwood, Mass., who would benefit from the legislation and are telling their personal stories.

House Democrats' bill would pay for extending insurance coverage with a surtax on Americans with annual incomes of $280,000 or more. But fiscal conservatives, known as the Blue Dog coalition, have objected to the financing and have stalled the legislation after it passed two committees last week.

In response, Pelosi is floating the prospect of imposing the surtax starting with those making $1 million or more a year.

UPDATE: House Republicans said this afternoon that by their count, at least 42 House Democrats have expressed qualms or outright opposition to the bill. (Click here to see the list.)

But Representative Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat in the party's leadership, said today that he's "very hopeful" that the House will pass the bill next week.

“Very frankly, every member of the Caucus, every member, from Blue Dog to Progressive and everybody in-between says ‘they want to vote for healthcare reform bill’ and the American public wants to see one,” he said on Fox News Channel.

“We want to get it right, but, we don’t think simply considering it for another next 16 years will necessarily be the solution to getting it right. We need to get it done.”

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- Massive crop devastation, melting glaciers, water shortages, millions of displaced people -- all of these will drag the US military into conflict if global climate change goes unchecked, a Senate panel was warned today.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, convened by Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, focused on what so far has received only modest attention in the climate change debate: the effect it is bound to have on national defense.

"Addressing the consequences of changes in the Earth's climate is not simply about saving polar bears or preserving the beauty of mountain glaciers," retired Navy Vice Adm. Lee F. Gunn, president of the American Security Project, told the panel. "Climate change is a threat to our national security."

Gunn and other military specialists said that climate change could have broad effects on how the US military operates. It will likely expand the number of humanitarian missions the Pentagon will have to undertake, they said, and even change how it deploys its fighting forces.

For example, they warned that rising sea levels could swamp critical US military bases in the Indian Ocean and even the headquarters of the Atlantic Fleet in Norfolk, Va., which could be under water after just a one-meter rise in the ocean level.

From Africa to the Middle East and South Asia, dramatic changes in the weather will stress already unstable nations, creating what Gunn called "climate conflicts."

"International conflicts over resources, due to migrants, and/or as a means of distraction are not only likely," he added, "but likely to exacerbate the underlying climate change problem."

Kerry, since he took the helm of the committee earlier this year, has made addressing climate change a top priority. Several specialists said today that elevating the security aspect will help garner the kind of support necessary to make the difficult changes in energy and other global policies to stabilize the climate.

Sharon E. Burke, vice president for natural security at the Center for a New American Security, testified that the hearing was "an important demonstration of the fact that global climate change is now taken seriously as a strategic challenge."

Kerry, for his part, pledged to keep the shining the light on the issue.

"If we fail to connect the dots -- if we fail to take action -- the simple, indisputable reality is that we will find ourselves living not only in a ravaged environment, but also in a much more dangerous world," he said.

Correction: This item has been revised because of a reporting error that misstated the title for Sharon E. Burke, vice president for natural security at the Center for a New American Security.

Kerry's full opening statement is below:

President Obama is firmly, stubbornly staying wih his persistent push on healthcare.

But for good reason: While the fate of the sweeping legislation might not be the "Waterloo" turning point of his presidency -- as some Republicans hope from defeating him -- Obama has staked a huge pile of his political poker chips on victory.

This afternoon, in his almost daily remarks healthcare, Obama took on his opponents, saying that they would rather "score political points" than help families struggling with healthcare and that some will try to delay health reform until the special interests kill it.

While acknowledging that there is work to do for a final deal, he went on to tick off the areas of agreement in the working Senate and House versions and the broader consensus with health industry groups.

"We have traveled long and hard to reach this point," Obama said, through decades of Washington failing to fix healthcare. (His full remarks are below.)

UPDATE: Backing up Obama, the Democratic National Committee released a new web video today bashing Republican critics of the president's healthcare plan. It juxtaposes Republicans saying they want Obama to fail, with Obama's response.

“Over the last few days we've learned the true intentions of the Republican party when it comes to health care, and those intentions, while not surprising, are disturbing. Let's be clear - the same Republican party that let health care costs spiral out of control over the last eight years while protecting their special interest friends, is now expressly saying that they want to ‘kill’ health care reform and that their interest is to ‘break’ the President politically," DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse said in a statement.

“The Republican approach of working to kill health care reform when so many American families are struggling is not only broken, it's also irresponsible. Republicans would be better served if they focused on killing off this callous attitude within their party that puts fixing their own political problems ahead of fixing problems for American families.”

Republicans countered by saying that Obama is trying to move too fast with a plan that could derail the economic recovery. "Healthcare reform is too important to rush through and get wrong," Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky argued in a floor speech today.

They also asserted that House Democrats have been told not to cooperate with Republicans on healthcare legislation and that Democrats are making a mountain out of the molehill of Senator Jim DeMint's quotation that a healthcare defeat could be Obama's Waterloo.

"The White House and Democrats are jumping on one quote to set up Republicans as a straw man to mask over their internal party divisions which are delaying their drive for government-run healthcare," Joe Pounder, spokesman for the No. 2 House Republican Eric Cantor, said in a statement.

"However, we recall one remarkable quote from a key House Democrat, Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), who wrote that House Democrats are being 'explicitly told not to work with Republicans.' Just to be clear: the White House and Democrats are using a fake straw man argument. Democrats don’t want to work with Republicans but at the same time, want to blame Republicans for their failures."

Obama plans to return to the subject in a primetime news conference Wednesday and a town hall in Cleveland Thursday.

Obama also plans to meet this afternoon with Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which hasn't passed the healthcare bill. Two other House panels approved their portions of the bill last week, but fiscally conservative Democrats on the Energy committee are balking at the bill's financing, among other issues.

The House Ways and Means Committee voted last week to pay for healthcare by imposing an income surtax on couples making as little as $350,000 a year and individuals earning as little as $280,000. To try to get conservative Democrats on board, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is proposing to limit the income tax increases to couples making more than $1 million a year and individuals making more than $500,000.

In an interview aired this morning on NBC's "Today" show, Obama defended his insistence on Congress passing healthcare overhaul legislation before its August summer recess. "If you don't set a deadline in this town, nothing happens," the president said, adding, "And the deadline isn't being set by me. It's being set by the American people."

President Obama is taking a hit from fellow Democrats on another issue -- the use of signing statements on bills passed by Congress.

In a letter today to Obama, four senior House Democrats scolded him, saying he is being too much like former President George W. Bush in using the statements to ignore legislation he thinks oversteps the Constitution, the Associated Press reports.

The House members said they were "surprised" and "chagrined" by Obama's statement in June accompanying a war spending bill that he would ignore restrictions placed on aid provided to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The letter was signed by Representatives David Obey of Wisconsin; chairman of the House Appropriations Committee; Barney Frank of Massachusetts, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee; and Nita Lowey and Gregory Meeks of New York, who chair subcommittees on those panels.

Congressional Democrats were harshly critical of Bush's signing statements, which they argued violated the constitutional separation of powers. Critics contended Bush used such statements to expand his power, particularly on national security, by ignoring the intent or certain provisions of bills properly passed by Congress. (Charlie Savage, then with the Globe, won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for documenting Bush's actions."

Obama also assailed Bush on the issue during the presidential campaign.

In March, he vowed not to use signing statements to disregard parts of laws because he disagrees on policy grounds, but only when he strongly believes provisions are unconstitutional. "There is no doubt that the practice of issuing such statements can be abused. Constitutional signing statements should not be used to suggest that the president will disregard statutory requirements on the basis of policy disagreements," wrote Obama.

But he has issued a series of signing statements since, though not nearly as many as Bush.

President Obama continued his full-court press today for sweeping healthcare legislation, holding a roundtable discussion with providers at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington.

Trying to get healthcare overhaul back on track, Obama took a populist bent, asserting that big insurers and pharmaceutical firms and other special interests are reaping huge benefits from the existing healthcare system, while American families struggle.

Unless healthcare is reformed, he said, families will pay more and more of their income for less and less care.

Obama also took on his Republican opponents, incredulously citing South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint's remark last week that a defeat on healthcare would be Obama's "Waterloo" -- undermining his presidency.

"This isn't about me, this isn't about politics, this about a healthcare system that is breaking," the president said

He said the "politics of delay and defeat" should not be allowed to succeed -- and the nation needs a healthcare overhaul this year.

"Let's fight our way through the politics of the moment," he said.

"We've talked this problem to death," he added. (His full remarks are below.)

UPDATE: Senator Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, added his criticism of Obama, saying that the healthcare push looks a lot like the push for the $787 billion stimulus package, which he asserted has been a failure.

“By any standard upon which it was sold to us, not that it would do some good two or three years from now, but now, by that standard it has been a failure,” McConnell said this afternoon on Fox News Channel. “People feel like they got burned on the Stimulus vote, there were a few people that voted for it who feel like they got burned. A lot of the rest of us are saying, you know, we told you this might not have been the right thing to do.”

“The American people are now looking at this healthcare proposal and are saying this sounds a lot like what we were just told a few months ago on the stimulus, 'You got to get it done tomorrow or bad things are going to happen,' ” he added. “There is suspicion that this is a do over from the stimulus that we had just a few months ago, being sold to us as something we have to do immediately, that may not work.”

But as various versions of the bill wend their way through Congress, Obama is spending most of his time on the defensive against critics of the reform proposals even as he stakes the early success of his presidency on passing healthcare this year.

Perhaps for good reason -- a new Washington Post/ABC News poll published today showed that the public's approval of Obama's handling of the issue has dropped below the 50 percent threshold for the first time.

In the poll, 49 percent approve of his healthcare proposals and 44 percent disapprove. The approval number is down 8 percentage points from April and the disapproval number is up 15 percentage points as more attention -- and more criticism -- has focused on the proposals.

The poll also found that the president's approval ratings on other major issues, such as the economy and the federal budget deficit, have also slipped in recent months. His overall approval rating is higher than his marks on specific issues -- 59 percent positive and 37 negative -- but it's still the first time since he took office that his overall rating dropped below 60 percent in the Post-ABC poll, and is down six percentage points from just last month. The survey, conducted July 15-18, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

UPDATE: A second poll out today also found public skepticism about Obama's healthcare plan.

In the USA Today/Gallup survey, conducted Friday through Sunday, Americans by 50 percent to 44 percent disapprove of his handling of healthcare, and by 49 percent to 47 percent disapprove of his handling of the economy.

Sensing some vulnerability, Republicans are on the attack.

GOP Chairman Michael Steele, in a speech this morning at the National Press Club, accused Obama of "risky experimentation" with his healthcare proposals and asserted that Democrats want to impose government-run healthcare.

Asked whether the plans amounted to socialism, Steele said yes.

"Many Democrats outside of the Obama-Pelosi-Reid-Waxman cabal know that voters won't stand for these kinds of foolish prescriptions for our health care. We do too. That's why Republicans will stop at nothing to remind voters about the risky experimentation going on in Washington," Steele said, according to the Associated Press.

Obama wants a public insurance option to compete with private insurers and, he says, keep them honest, but has repeatedly said he does not favor a government-run health care system.

Republicans are backing up Steele's criticisms with a new TV ad that derides Obama's economic stimulus plan as a "massive spending experiment" that has failed to produce jobs. Featuring an ominous voiceover and images of children, the 30-second spot warns that his healthcare plan would "risk everything."

UPDATE: Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine this afternoon issued a lengthy response to Steele, accusing Republicans of being far more interested in scoring political points than helping Americans with their healthcare.

“This morning, Chairman Steele delivered a speech announcing a ‘new’ Republican campaign against the President’s efforts to reform America’s broken health care system. Republican opposition to health care reform, however, is anything but new. In his speech, Chairman Steele spoke at length about the potential risks to reforming our failed health care system. It's sad, but not surprising, that the Republican Party, which for so long has supported the very policies and vested interests that helped get us to this crisis point, are unable to recognize the that the real risk is to do nothing at all, as they propose," Kaine said.

“Despite the crisis that confronts American families, the GOP continues to argue for the status quo on behalf of the special interests. If we do nothing as the Republican ‘Party of NO’ would have us do, we not only will ensure more of the same, but guarantee a growing crisis that will put a burden on our children that they will never overcome," Kaine added.

“It was also stunning - and sad - to hear that Chairman Steele agreed with Senator DeMint's comments that stopping health care reform would ‘break’ the President politically. What's ‘broken’ is a health care system where costs continue to explode, working families can't afford their premiums, small business can't compete, and where the Republican Party is interested in ensuring that we do nothing about these problems purely for their own political gain."

While Republican attacks are to expected, even some of Obama's allies are not happy with the direction the healthcare legislation is going.

Some Democrats, notably Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, want to tax the most generous employer-provided health benefits -- an idea Obama hasn't endorsed. But in an op-ed piece in Sunday's Washington Post, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney rails against the proposal.

Unions oppose the idea, arguing that employees have given up salary increases over the years and accepted better health benefits in return.

"Persistent misconceptions about the 'tax-favored treatment' of employer-sponsored coverage are that it (1) leads to overconsumption of health services and (2) favors the wealthy," Sweeney's piece says.

"With rising health costs burdening businesses and families alike, does anyone really believe that employers or workers lack incentive to hold down costs? The tax treatment of health benefits no more contributes to high health-care costs than the deduction for mortgage interest is responsible for housing costs. Clearly, both are affected by far more complex factors."

Senator Edward M. Kennedy -- absent in person during the healthcare debate in Congress, but there "in spirit," as President Obama says -- says in a new first-person magazine article that the push for reform is the "cause of my life."

"Last year, I was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Surgeons at Duke University Medical Center removed part of the tumor, and I had proton-beam radiation at Massachusetts General Hospital. I've undergone many rounds of chemotherapy and continue to receive treatment. Again, I have enjoyed the best medical care money (and a good insurance policy) can buy," Kennedy writes in the new edition of Newsweek.

"But quality care shouldn't depend on your financial resources, or the type of job you have, or the medical condition you face. Every American should be able to get the same treatment that U.S. senators are entitled to."

The Massachusetts Democrat says the time is now for a comprehensive bill that offers universal coverage. Incremental measures won't suffice anymore. We need to succeed where Teddy Roosevelt and all others since have failed. The conditions now are better than ever. In Barack Obama, we have a president who's announced that he's determined to sign a bill into law this fall. And much of the business community, which has suffered the economic cost of inaction, is helping to shape change, not lobbying against it."

Kennedy takes on the skeptics of the cost of reform: "I've heard the critics complain about the costs of change. I'm confident that at the end of the process, the change will be paid for—fairly, responsibly, and without adding to the federal deficit. It doesn't make sense to negotiate in the pages of NEWSWEEK, but I will say that I'm open to many options, including a surtax on the wealthy, as long as it meets the principle laid down by President Obama: that there will be no tax increases on anyone making less than $250,000 a year. What I haven't heard the critics discuss is the cost of inaction. If we don't reform the system, if we leave things as they are, health-care inflation will cost far more over the next decade than health-care reform. We will pay far more for far less—with millions more Americans uninsured or underinsured," he writes.

And he argues, the perfect should not be the enemy of the good: "Everyone won't be satisfied—and no one will get everything they want. But we need to come together, just as we've done in other great struggles—in World War II and the Cold War, in passing the great civil-rights laws of the 1960s, and in daring to send a man to the moon. If we don't get every provision right, we can adjust and improve the program next year or in the years to come. What we can't afford is to wait another generation."

The high-stakes battle over healthcare takes today to dueling Internet and radio addresses.

In his weekly address, President Obama tells Americans that the status quo is unacceptable and the chance for fixing healthcare might not come again for years.

"This is an issue that affects the health and financial well-being of every single American and the stability of our entire economy," he says, after a week during which doubts grew in Congress about how to pay for the overhaul, the official budget keeper warned that the legislation would not control public spending on healthcare, and calls became louder for slowing down the process.

"It’s about every family unable to keep up with soaring out of pocket costs and premiums rising three times faster than wages. Every worker afraid of losing health insurance if they lose their job, or change jobs. Everyone who’s worried that they may not be able to get insurance or change insurance if someone in their family has a pre-existing condition.

"This is the system we have today. This is what the debate in Congress is all about: Whether we’ll keep talking and tinkering and letting this problem fester as more families and businesses go under, and more Americans lose their coverage. Or whether we’ll seize this opportunity – one we might not have again for generations – and finally pass health insurance reform this year, in 2009."

Obama also directly takes on his critics, asserting that it's "simply not true" that the overhaul will lead to record government deficits and saying that it's not true that the plan calls for government bureaucrats instead of families picking doctors.

"Finally, opponents of health reform warn that this is all some big plot for socialized medicine or government-run health care with long lines and rationed care. That’s not true either. I don’t believe that government can or should run health care," the president says. "But I also don’t think insurance companies should have free reign to do as they please."

In the Republican response, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona warned about "a government takeover of the healthcare system," new "job-killing taxes" on small businesses, and "rationing" of care.

He also accused Democrats of trying to rush through legislation "because the more Americans know about it, the more they oppose it. Something this important needs to be done right, rather than done quickly."

"Republicans have put forward common-sense ideas, including rooting out Medicare and Medicaid fraud, reforming medical liability laws to discourage frivolous lawsuits, strengthening wellness and prevention programs that encourage healthy living, and allowing small businesses to band together and purchase health insurance like large corporations do," said Kyl, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate leadership.

“We know Americans would prefer us to work together to ensure access to affordable quality healthcare for all. But Americans do not want a government takeover of health care that will jeopardize their current coverage, ration care, and create mountains of new debt and higher taxes.

Obama's address can be viewed here, Kyl's can be seen here, and both their remarks are below:

Despite a series of setbacks this week, President Obama declared this afternoon that there has been "unprecedented progress" toward a healthcare overhaul.

In a hastily scheduled, then delayed appearance at the White House designed to reseize momentum on his top domestic priority, Obama urged everyone to "step back" from the "24-hour news cycle."

He spoke a day after the official, nonpartisan bean counter in Congress warned that House Democrats' healthcare bill would increase public spending on healthcare and worsen the federal deficit, adding to the sense that the legislation might be in trouble.

But Obama noted that hospitals and drug companies have pledged givebacks to help pay for the bill, and that the American Medical Association and American Nurses Association endorsed legislation this week. He also asserted that there is broad agreement on major elements of health reform.

"Now we've got to get over the finish line," he said, largely by figuring out how to pay the full cost of health overhaul without adding to the federal deficit.

"The last few miles of any race are the hardest to run," he added, but that doesn't mean slowing down or giving up and he remains "absolutely convinced" that legislation will be passed this year.

It must be passed because if healthcare overhaul isn't done, everyone's health coverage is at risk, the president said.

Obama, who met in recent days with key Senate moderates and Republicans, argued that savings in Medicare and Medicaid, and other efficiencies in the healthcare system would pay for about two-thirds of the cost, estimated at $1 trillion over 10 years.

Obama's chief economic adviser, Lawrence Summers, also made the argument in a speech today defending the administration's economic policies. Summers said the savings projected by the administration are based on wellness and prevention programs that are difficult to figure into the Congressional Budget Office's estimates.

While Obama wants a health overhaul that both extends coverage to the nearly 50 million Americans without insurance and cuts healthcare spending, Douglas Elmendorf, director of the CBO, told a Senate committee Thursday that the legislation drafted so far would fall far short on the second goal.

"We do not see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount. And on the contrary, the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for healthcare costs," he said.

Despite that warning, two House committees advanced the Democratic bill early today on party-line votes.

The Ways and Means Committee voted to help pay for the measure by imposing a surtax on higher-income taxpayers to raise $544 billion over 10 years. The vote was 23 to 18, with three Democrats joining all Republicans in opposition, the Associated Press reports. The Education and Labor Committee approved its portion of the bill on a vote of 26-22.

In the Senate, however, a group of six Democrats and Republicans urged the White House to pull back from its schedule to get a bill through Congress before its August recess. "We believe that taking additional time to achieve a bipartisan result is critical," the group wrote in a letter obtained by the AP.

The letter was signed by Democratic Senators Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Ron Wyden of Oregon, and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, an independent who usually caucuses with Democrats.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy lauded the Senate for endorsing a bill that he has championed for more than a decade to expand federal hate-crimes laws to protect people attacked because of their sexual orientation or gender.

The bill, named for Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student who was murdered in 1998, was attached to a defense spending measure expected to pass next week. The House approved a similar hate crimes bill in April and President Obama supports it.

The "action by the Senate finally closes the flagrant loopholes that for too long have prevented effective prosecution of these shocking crimes that terrorize entire groups of communities across America," Kennedy said in a statement. "The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act gives federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities the power they need to combat these brutal acts of domestic terrorism.

"This legislation would not have been possible without the tireless advocacy of Matthew’s mother, Judy Shepard, and I commend her for her achievement. The rule of law is stronger in America today because of her."

Could it be a reprise of the stimulus on healthcare?

There are certainly hints that moderate US senators of both parties could determine the fate of President Obama's agenda yet again.

Obama is holding separate private meetings this morning to discuss healthcare overhaul with Senators Olympia Snowe, a Maine Republican, and Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat. They are among the senators being targeted by new TV ads, launched by Obama's grassroots organization, that say "it's time" for healthcare reform.

Nelson and Snowe's fellow moderate senator from Maine, Susan Collins, played a key role in negotiations to win Senate approval in February for the $787 billion economic recovery package championed by Obama. The stimulus bill passed the House without a single Republican vote, and the administration's horse-trading focused on satisfying Nelson and Collins, who pushed for a smaller package.

After meeting with Obama, Snowe said the president repeated his wish for Congress to pass a bill before its August recess. "He's determined to have that happen," she said on MSNBC.

But Snowe said it's more important to get bipartisan consensus in the Senate Finance Committee, especially on how to pay for the bill. Supporting a Senate vote in September, she also said she wants to give ample time for all senators and the public to review the bill.

"This deserves a thoughtful process," she said.

Asked about Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus saying today that Obama had hindered his efforts to reach a bipartisan deal by opposing a tax on some employer-provided health insurance benefits to help pay for the deal, Snowe said it would be helpful if Obama endorsed a financing approach.

The panel is "working mightily" to find "offsets" and other savings to reduce the cost of the bill. "It's all part of building a consensus," she said.

Asked to respond to Baucus, deputy White House press secretary Bill Burton told reporters on Air Force One today, "Nobody said it was going to be easy. And there are obviously bumps along the way to getting to final passage of legislation in both the House and the Senate. But we think that we've been able to make a lot of progress. And those comments notwithstanding, this week has been a very great week, if you consider that the House bill and the bill that passed through the HELP Committee are very, very similar. They're about 80 percent exactly the same."

Burton refused to say which version of the healthcare bills the president favors, and said Obama remains hopeful for a bipartisan compromise.

"We're only about midway through this. But he feels very positive about the progress we've been able to make," Burton said. " And once we get something through the House and through the Senate, we'll be able to go to conference and really put the rubber to the road and get something done."

With the power equation in the Senate so tenuous -- just last week Al Franken became the 60th Democratic vote, potentially enough to overcome Republican filibuster -- Snowe and Collins play an outsized role.

Obama and Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts are still holding out hope for a bipartisan deal this year on healthcare.

But those prospects appear to be dimming. The Senate health committee passed its $615 billion plan on a strictly party-line vote on Wednesday.

In the House, little, if any Republican support, is expected in votes planned today in the Education and Labor and the Ways and Means committees on a $1.5 trillion plan that House Democrats presented this week. It would be financed in large measure through a tax surcharge on the highest-income Americans.

"It is extraordinary, the breadth of the bill that is being pushed through and the cost associated with it," Representative Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, told reporters this morning. "And ultimately, really, the cost is going to be borne by the people of this country -- the middle class, the wealthy, those who can least afford it, all of us are going to be paying an astronomical cost at a time that we just cannot afford this ambitious grab."

Obama, who during the campaign proposed paying for healthcare by limiting tax deduction for high earners, has not endorsed a specific financing plan. But on CBS's "Early Show" this morning, he said, "Personally, I think the best way to fund it is for people like myself, who've been very lucky, to pay a little bit more."

UPDATE: Today, the American Medical Association endorsed House Democrat's bill, saying it "includes a broad range of provisions that are key to effective, comprehensive health system reform."

“I am grateful that the doctors of the AMA have chosen to support health insurance reform that will lower costs, expand coverage, and assure choice and quality health care for all Americans. Along with the nation’s nurses, these doctors are joining the chorus of Americans who know that the time to reform what is broken about our health care system is now,” Obama said in a statement.

The insurance industry, however, said it opposes key elements of the bill, saying a government plan "will cause millions of patients to lose their current coverage."

With President Obama's goal of a sweeping healthcare bill hanging in the balance, his grassroots group plans a weeklong series of events across the country designed to turn up the heat on Congress.

Organizing for America, Obama's campaign organization now part of the Democratic National Committee, announced this afternoon that it plans door-to-door canvasses, phone banks, roundtable discussions, and community gatherings from Monday through next Sunday, all "designed to build grassroots support for President Obama’s plan and amplify the his call for the House and Senate to pass health care reform bill before the August congressional recess."

The events include door knocks and a phone bank led by State Representative Chris Hamm in Hopkinton, N.H., next Saturday, and signature collecting in Exeter, N.H., next Sunday.

“Presidents since the time of Teddy Roosevelt have called for reform of our health care system - now comprehensive reform is finally within our reach,” Mitch Stewart, the group's director, said in a statement. “The number of Americans who have declared their support for the President’s three principles of reform has been overwhelming and continues to grow each day. During this Week of Action, we’ll continue to build support - person-by-person and block-by-block - for passing a plan this year that lowers costs, guarantees choice – including the choice of a public option and ensures all Americans have access to quality, affordable care.”

The war of words over the economic stimulus is getting louder today in Virginia.

Vice President Joe Biden is in Richmond, the home district of Representative Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House and one of President Obama's harshest, most persistent critics.

Biden plans to blast Cantor, according to the Washington Post. "To those who say that our economic decisions 'have not produced jobs, have not produced prosperity, and simply have not worked, I say, 'Take a look around,' " Biden will say, according to prepared remarks obtained by Post. "I ask those critics, 'Would they not help the states prevent lay off thousands of teachers, firefighters, cops? Would they not give a tax cut to 95 percent of the American people? Would they sit back and do nothing as our economy collapsed?' "

Cantor's office, for its part, is on the case of Tim Kaine, Virginia's governor and Obama's hand-picked chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Kaine sent out a statement today saying that Obama's $787 billion stimulus package -- which not a single House Republican supported -- is sparking a recovery and creating jobs.

"For Governor Kaine's DNC to flatly state that there is an economic recovery misses the current and increasing double-digit unemployment in Richmond and the 8.1% unemployment in Central Virginia. To declare an 'economic recovery' when so many Virginian families are being negatively impacted by this Administrations economic policy is a truly shocking statement that should be retracted," Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring said in a statement.

"A stimulus bill should have an immediate economic impact and create real, long term jobs, and this stimulus has not created jobs or fixed our economy."

It must be a bittersweet time for Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

His most cherished legislative goal -- a healthcare bill that offers universal coverage -- is perhaps closer than ever before.

But his own health -- he is more than a year into treatment for aggressive brain cancer -- is keeping him from being in the thick of the action. He was not present when the Senate health committee became the first congressional panel Wednesday to pass a healthcare overhaul bill.

President Obama, who benefited immensely from Kennedy's endorsement during the Democratic primaries, said on ABC's "Good Morning America" this morning that he had talked to Kennedy last week.

But the president noted that is a difficult time for Kennedy, whom he lauded at a White House healthcare summit in March.

"Obviously, it's painful for Senator Kennedy, who's fought all his life for this moment, not to be there in the heat of battle. But he's there in spirit," Obama said. "Obviously, right now, we just want to make sure that he's taking care of himself and he's healing. But his spirit looms large over this entire process."

Even without him there in person, it was a big day on Capitol Hill for Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

His bill to extend federal hate crimes protections to gays and the disabled made it to the Senate floor with its best prospects since Kennedy, who is fighting brain cancer, first introduced the bill in 1997.

Democrats control both the Senate and House, which passed a version in April, and President Obama supports the legislation as well. The bill, named for Matthew Shepard, the gay Wyoming college student who was beaten to death, would add gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability to current hate crimes law, which applies to acts of violence motivated by prejudice against a person's race, color, national origin, or religion.

Earlier in the day, the Senate health committee became the first congressional panel to pass a healthcare bill this year -- a measure designed to expand insurance coverage, rein in costs, and stop private insurers from discriminating against people based on their medical history.

“This is an historic day for the cause of health care reform that is the cause of Senator Kennedy’s life," Senator John F. Kerry, Kennedy's fellow Massachusetts Democrat, said in a statement.

"Each day I work beside Ted Kennedy is an honor, a privilege, and an education in what it means to be a legislator, and of those thousands of days, none have been sweeter or longer in coming than today’s giant step forward in providing affordable healthcare to all Americans. The HELP Committee under Ted and Chris Dodd’s extraordinary guidance passed a plan that will help all those struggling under the weight of mounting costs by encouraging competition and offering a robust public choice that empowers consumers and keeps the big interests honest. The Senate under Ted Kennedy’s leadership is committed to a healthcare plan that drives down costs, strengthens coverage, and preserves personal choice. This is Teddy’s mission, and we’re committed to making his dream a reality.”

With Congress getting back on track on a healthcare overhaul, President Obama declared this afternoon that "we are now closer to the goal of health reform than we have ever been."

During his foreign trip last week, leaders of the healthcare push ran into a series of roadblocks. But on Tuesday, the House Democratic leadership unveiled a comprehensive bill. And this morning, the Senate health committee passed its version.

"Both proposals will take what’s best about our system today and make it the basis for our system tomorrow -- reducing costs, raising quality, and ensuring fair treatment of consumers by the insurance industry," the president said in the Rose Garden.

"Both include a health insurance exchange, a marketplace that will allow families and small businesses to compare prices, services, and quality so they can choose the plan that best suits their needs; and among the choices available would be a public health insurance option that would make healthcare more affordable by increasing competition, providing more choices, and keeping insurance companies honest. Both proposals will offer stability and security to Americans who have coverage today, and affordable options for Americans who don’t," Obama added.

"This progress should make us hopeful -- but it can’t make us complacent. It should instead provide the urgency for both the House and the Senate to finish their critical work on health reform before the August recess."

Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, who is seeking a landmark healthcare bill as the capstone of his legislative career while fighting brain cancer, missed the health committee vote.

Still, Obama praised the "unyielding passion and inspiration" provided by "our friend Ted Kennedy," as well as the "bold leadership" of Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, who has been shepherding the bill in Kennedy's absence.

Taking on critics he described as the "naysayers and the cynics," Obama repeated his argument that the country can't wait to fix the healthcare system, and renewed his vow to sign a comprehensive healthcare bill this year.

"We are going to get this done," said Obama, who was joined by Dodd and leaders of the 2.9-million-member American Nurses Association, saying that "few understand why we have to pass reform as intimately as our nation’s nurses." "It's time for us to buck up.... It’s up to us now. We can do what we’ve done for so long and defer tough decisions for another day -- or we can step up and meet our responsibilities. In other words, we can lead. We can look beyond the next news cycle and the next election to the next generation, and come together to build a system that works not just for these nurses, but for the patients they care for; for doctors and hospitals; for families and businesses -- and for our very future as a nation."

His full prepared remarks are below:

As Congress races to try to get a healthcare overhaul bill to President Obama's desk before the August recess, both political parties are trying to shape public opinion.

Organizing for America, Obama's grassroots group now housed within the Democratic National Committee, released a new 30 second TV ad today in which five people hurt by the healthcare system all say "it's time" for the sweeping change. The five (their stories are below) are among hundreds of thousands of people who responded to the group's call for personal stories.

“Millions of Americans lose their health insurance when they lose their job, are denied care because of a pre-existing condition, and delay care or skip medication because they can’t afford it,” the group's executive director, Mitch Stewart, said in a statement. “Skyrocketing health care costs are hurting American families and straining already-strapped budgets for businesses and governments. It’s time to reform our health care system to lower costs, preserve patient choice and ensure that all Americans have access to quality, affordable care.”

The ad will run on national cable, on cable in Washington, and on local stations in Arkansas, Indiana, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Ohio, calling on moderate senators -- both Republicans and Democrats -- in those states to support the bill.

While Democrats are urging Congress to act, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele asked "why the rush?" in an email today to supporters urging them to get involved.

"The Democrats have learned from their missteps last time they tried to force Americans into a socialized health care system -- the abysmal failure of the Clinton Administration's 'HillaryCare,' " he says. "So now, they are rushing 'Obamacare' through Congress, hoping it avoids the same fate."

Like Clinton's ill-fated plan, Obama and the Democrats -- with a public insurance option -- are seeking government-run healthcare, Steele argues.

"President Obama and Congressional Democrats think government is the solution to every problem. They're wrong," he says. "The government already runs car companies, banks and mortgage companies. Republicans believe that the last thing the American people want is government telling them when and where -- or even whether -- they can get medical treatment for their families.

"You and the RNC are all that stand between our sensible Republican plan for real healthcare reform and the Democrats' scheme to take more of your hard-earned income to pay for other people's health care while limiting yours."

The Senate health committee this morning passed its version of healthcare overhaul on a 13-10 party line vote, the first congressional panel to pass a healthcare bill this session.

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• Healthcare bill offers workers incentive for healthy lifestyle

"We have done the hard work that the American people sent us here to do," Kennedy said in a statement. "We know, however, that our work is not over -- far from it. As we move from our committee room to the Senate floor, we must continue the search for solutions that unite us, so that the great promise of quality affordable health care for all can be fulfilled."

“For the past months, Rhode Islanders have told me that we need to fix health care in this country. I’ve heard from people struggling under skyrocketing costs and fearful that their coverage will disappear; people living with illness or injury because they can’t afford to see a doctor; people suffering from needless, preventable medical errors. All they’re asking for is health care they can rely on, and afford. As of today, we’re one step closer," Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat on the committee, said in a statement.

“The reform bill we passed today will let you keep the health insurance you have, if you like it – and if you can’t afford your coverage or you’re uninsured, you’ll have new choices. Its emphasis on quality improvement, disease prevention, and a public insurance option will mean high-quality, efficient health care that invests not only in treating you when you’re sick, but in keeping you well. And never again will an insurance company be able to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition."

But Senator Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, told reporters that Democrats on the committee had "struck out" on healthcare by passing a bill that leaves millions of Americans uncovered and that could cost workers their jobs by burdening businesses.

He and other Republicans complained that the Democratic majority ignored their proposals and amendments.

On Tuesday, House leaders unveiled a $1.5 trillion healthcare bill that would raise taxes on the highest-income Americans and penalize businesses that don't offer coverage and individuals who don't get insurance.

The House bill calls for federal income surtax starting with individuals making more than $280,000 a year and rising to 5.4 percent on those making more than $1 million a year. Employers who don't provide coverage would be hit with a penalty equal to 8 percent of workers' wages, though small businesses would be exempt. Individuals who skip coverage would pay 2.5 percent of their incomes as a penalty, up to the average cost of a health insurance plan.

President Obama, who is ramping up his push to get a healthcare overhaul bill on his desk before the August congressional recess, has scheduled another speech on healthcare this afternoon in the Rose Garden.

Obama responded to the panel's passage with a statement praising elements that he supports, but as he did when House leaders unveiled their bill without fully endorsing it.

“Today, thanks to the unyielding passion and inspiration provided by Senator Edward Kennedy, the HELP committee he chairs has produced a proposal that will finally lower health care costs, provide better care for patients, and ensure fair treatment of consumers by the insurance industry," the president said.

"Like the legislation produced by the House of Representatives, this proposal would offer Americans quality, affordable health care that is there when they need it. No longer will insurance companies be able to deny coverage based on a pre-existing medical condition. No longer will Americans have to worry about their health insurance if they lose their job, change their job, or open a new business.

"This proposal will bring down costs, expand coverage, and increase choice. Through a health insurance exchange, families and small businesses will be able to compare prices and quality so that they can choose the health care plan that best suits their needs. Among the choices that would be available in the exchange would be a public health insurance option that would make health care affordable by increasing competition, providing more choices, and keeping the insurance companies honest.

"This proposal would also control rising costs by investing in preventive care and wellness programs, rooting out waste and fraud in the system, and changing the incentives that automatically equate the most expensive care with the best care.

"When this proposal is combined with other proposals that the Senate Finance Committee is working on, it’s estimated that health reform will cover 97% of all Americans.

"The HELP committee’s success should give us hope, but it should not give us pause. It should instead provide the urgency for both the House and Senate to finish their critical work on health reform before the August recess. I want to commend Senator Kennedy, Senator Dodd, as well as Senators Harkin, Mikulski, Bingaman, and Murray on the leadership they’ve shown and the foundation they’ve laid to reform our health care system.”

President Obama this afternoon praised the healthcare overhaul bill unveiled by Democratic leaders in the House.

Patterned in significant measure after the 2006 Massachusetts law, it would penalize employers who fail to provide health insurance for their workers and individuals who refuse to obtain coverage.

The legislation would be paid for by a federal income surtax -- up to 5.4 percent on the income of taxpayers making more than $1 million a year -- plus hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts in projected Medicare and Medicaid spending.

Obama urged Congress on Monday to get back on track to send him a bill before its August recess, after healthcare legislation went off the rails over disagreements on financing during the week he was abroad.

But in his statement, he did not endorse the surtax as a way to pay for healthcare.

"For decades, Washington failed to act as healthcare costs continued to rise, crushing businesses and families and placing an unsustainable burden on governments. But today, key committees in the House of Representatives have engaged in unprecedented cooperation to produce a health care reform proposal that will lower costs, provide better care for patients, and ensure fair treatment of consumers by the insurance industry," Obama said in a statement issued by the White House this afternoon.

"This proposal controls the skyrocketing cost of health care by rooting out waste and fraud and promoting quality and accountability. Its savings of more than $500 billion over 10 years will strengthen Medicare and contribute to our goal of reforming health care in a fiscally responsible way. It will change the incentives in our health care system so that Americans can receive the best care, not the most expensive care. And it will offer families and businesses more choices and more affordable health care," he added.

"This proposal will also prevent insurance companies from denying people coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition. It will ensure that workers can still have health insurance if they lose their job, change their job or start a new business. And it includes a health insurance exchange that will allow families and small businesses to compare prices and quality so they can choose the health care plan that best suits their needs. Among the choices that would be available in the exchange would be a public health insurance option that would make health care affordable by increasing competition, providing more choices, and keeping the insurance companies honest.

"The House proposal will begin the process of fixing what’s broken about our health care system, reducing costs for all, building on what works, and covering an estimated 97% of all Americans. And by emphasizing prevention and wellness, it will also help improve the quality of health care for every American.

"I thank Chairmen Rangel, Waxman, and Miller for their hard work on this bill that fundamentally reforms the health care system. As this process moves forward, I look forward to continuing to work with all House members in ensuring this legislation helps all Americans and plays an essential role in reducing deficits and bringing fiscal sustainability to our nation.”

UPDATE: Critics say the well-off are being unfairly targeted and would be discouraged from making more money and creating jobs.

The Tax Foundation calculates if the House plan became law, taxpayers in 39 states would face a combined top tax rate of more than 50 percent. Residents of Rhode Island (56.2 percent) and Vermont (55.8 percent) would be among the hardest hit.

"That means government would be taking more than half of every additional dollar from high-income taxpayers," Tax Foundation President Scott Hodge said in a statement.

The House proposal would impose a surtax of 1 percent on married couples with adjusted gross incomes of between $350,000 and $500,000 a year and singles who earn between $280,000 and $400,000; 1.5 percent on couples with incomes between $500,000 and $1 million and singles earning between $400,000 and $800,000; and 5.4 percent on couples earning more than $1 million and singles more than $800,000.

President Obama said today he still hopes that Congress can vote on a healthcare overhaul bill before its August recess, despite a series of setbacks this week for his top domestic priority.

House leaders hoped to unveil their bill today, but have put that off until at least Monday while they try to bring conservative Democrats, known as the Blue Dog Coalition, back into the fold. Democrats in both the House and Senate are scrambling to come up with a way to pay the estimated $1 trillion cost over the next decade.

UPDATE: In the latest approach to financing the overhaul, House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel told reporters this afternoon that the House bill to be unveiled on Monday would raise $540 billion over the next decade by imposing a 1 percent surtax on Americans with an annual income of more than $350,000. A higher surtax is proposed for people earning $500,000 and $1 million, he said.

Combined with savings promised by hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, including cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, the tax revenue is designed to be enough to pay for a bill costing about $1 trillion.

"Our team is working with members of Congress every day on this issue, and it is my highest legislative priority over the next month," Obama told reporters at the close of the G-8 summit in Italy.

He insisted that Washington is closer "at any time in recent history" to "achieving serious health care reform that cuts costs, provides coverage to American families, allows them to keep their doctors and plans that are working for them."

As both parties and both chambers work through the legislation, the president said, his job is to set "clear parameters" -- cutting costs, emphasizing prevention, covering the nearly 50 million uninsured, and doing it in a way that does not add to the federal deficit.

"There are going to be some tough negotiations in the days and weeks to come, but I'm confident that we're going to get it done," Obama added. "What I'm trying to keep focused on are the people out in states all across the country that are getting hammered by rising premiums. They're losing their jobs and suddenly losing their healthcare."

His full answer at the news conference is below:

By Stephanie Vallejo, Globe correspondent

WASHINGTON -- In the three months since Sirdeaner Walker’s 11-year-old son, Carl Walker-Hoover, committed suicide, the Springfield mother has channeled her grief into action. Walker appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to speak out on the dangers of bullying.

But that was just a warm-up.

Walker, once a self-described “ordinary working mom,” has become a persistent advocate for safer schools, and she’ll stop at nothing less than federal legislation. Appearing today before the House subcommittees on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education and Healthy Families and Communities, Walker related Carl’s story once again.

“What could make a child his age despair so much that he would take his own life?” Walker asked during a panel on “Strengthening School Safety Through Prevention of Bullying.” “I will probably never know the answer. What we do know is that Carl was being bullied relentlessly at school.”

Walker had known for months of her son’s situation, and, so did the staff at the New Leadership Charter School in Springfield.

She was unhappy with their course of action, and attributes it to a lack of training. The last week of Carl’s life, he had been assigned to sit with his tormentors at lunch as part of a mediation process. “Obviously there needs to be some professional development and instruction, because that’s not a solution,” she said.

While school officials acknowledge they knew of the bullying, they say they handled the situation appropriately.

Walker supports a bill that would require states that receive grants for safe and drug-free schools to invest in bullying prevention programs. She plans to speak with staff in the offices of Massachusetts Senators John F. Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy while in Washington.

“Everyone at the hearing listened to Carl’s story,” Walker said afterwards. “I really feel like now is the time that we look to the federal government for guidelines and leadership. Our children are suffering every day, in school.”

While President Obama discusses the global economy in Italy with other world leaders, the volume is getting dialed up on job losses at home.

The unemployment rate is at 9.5 percent -- the highest in 26 years -- and headed into double digits. Employers laid off another 467,000 workers last month, bringing to 6.5 million the net job losses since the recession began in December 2007. And criticism is growing of the $787 billion economic stimulus plan that Obama championed -- and why it isn't creating jobs quicker.

The epicenter of the debate this week is Ohio, the traditional presidential bellwether state where Obama spent quite a bit of time campaigning and where a new poll this week had worrisome numbers for Obama.

Respondents in the Quinnipiac University survey were evenly divided over Obama's handling of the economy -- 48 percent approved, 46 percent disapproved -- and his approval rating had dropped to 49 percent from 62 percent in May while his disapproval number rose to 44 percent from 31 percent.

Quinnipiac called Obama's numbers "lackluster," and said they were the lowest in any national or state poll it had conducted since his inauguration.

Representative John Boehner of Ohio, the top Republican in the House, caused a ruckus over the weekend by claiming that none of the contracts had been let for infrastructure projects funded by the stimulus.

The Democratic National Committee released a web video and is holding a news conference today in Ohio to rebut Boehner, who it says is being hypocritical since the House GOP stimulus plan had no infrastructure projects.

“Given that he championed and continues to advocate the very same economic policies that got us into this mess to begin with, perhaps John Boehner just doesn't know what creating new jobs looks like. Or perhaps he was willfully misleading the public about the effect of the President's economic recovery package to score political points,” DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan said in a statement. “Either way, considering that the Republican 'alternative' included ZERO funding for construction projects, it's the height of hypocrisy for Boehner to criticize the status of these projects at all.”

Michael Steel, a Boehner spokesman, responded: "Ohio was very nearly the last state to get the first 50 percent of its stimulus construction money obligated for construction projects, which is ridiculous. As of late May, approximately, no
contracts had been signed.

"Since that time, some contracts have been belatedly set in motion, but the entire process has been absurdly slow-moving -- just as Republicans warned it would be last winter when we called for an economic recovery bill based on fast-acting tax relief for small businesses and working families rather than spending on slow-moving government programs. It's embarrassing that the DNC can't defend its own indefensible trillion-dollar stimulus that isn't working
and resorts to desperate tactics like this."

The Obama administration concedes that the continuing job losses are unacceptable, but says that the stimulus package was always going to take some time to have measurable impact.

Vice President Joe Biden said over the weekend that the White House might have "misread" the depth of the recession; he plans to visit the state on Thursday to trumpet the stimulus.

But Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said on Fox Business Network that all the stimulus needs to be spent before serious consideration of a second stimulus package.

Solis said she can't predict when the unemployment rate will begin declining.

"We're not looking at just a quick fix here, we're looking at something that is going to take us out of this bad economy for the next decade," she said. "And we have to make these investments that were neglected in the last eight years."

Subbing for President Obama, who is at the G-8 economic summit in Italy, Vice President Joe Biden this morning formally announced the latest deal with the industry on a healthcare overhaul.

The nation's hospitals have tentatively agreed to forego about $155 billion in government payments for Medicaid and Medicare over the next decade -- about 20 percent of the $1 trillion projected to be needed to extend health coverage to about 47 million uninsured Americans.

Hospitals are cracking under the weight of uninsured patients getting treated in emergency rooms, Biden said, flanked by several hospital CEOs.

The deal follows some concessions by pharmaceutical firms, retail giant Wal-Mart's announcement last week that it would support an employer requirement to help pay for healthcare. The Obama team hopes such agreements build momentum for sweeping healthcare changes; the president wants to sign a bill this year.

"Reform is coming. It is on track. It is coming," Biden said.

Drug companies, doctors, and others are interested in healthcare overhaul. "We have the American public behind us," Biden added. (His full remarks are below.)

But even fellow Democrats in Congress are having qualms about the complexities of how to pay for a healthcare overhaul -- including whether to tax health benefits provided by employers -- and whether to create a new government insurance plan.

By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- As Washington ponders Al Franken's role as comedian or statesman, the Senate's newest member revealed another side of his persona today: He's a hugger.

Moments after Franken was sworn in as Minnesota's Democratic junior senator, he gave a big bear hug to Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry (himself not much of a public hugger), followed by hearty embraces of Democratic Senators Barbara Boxer of California, Tom Harkin of Iowa, and Amy Klobuchar, who has been carrying the load for Minnesota alone during the months of fighting over the seat.

Franken was declared the winner by the Minnesota Supreme Court last week, Republican incumbent Norm Coleman conceded, and Franken formally took the oath of office this afternoon.

As fans in the visitors' gallery cheered, Franken pumped his fist in victory, still holding the Bible he used for his swearing-in.

"There are people who see Al Franken in a very narrow concept, and it's understandable,'' since Franken gained fame as a comedian and radio talk-show host, said Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin of Illinois. "But there's a lot more to this person. He's a very bright person. He's very well-informed.''

"Many expect that every time Al opens his mouth, it's going to be a comedy routine -- it's not,'' Durbin added.

Franken won plum assignments on the Senate Judiciary, Aging, and Health committees. Franken will not officially join the latter panel, however, until after it finishes work writing the healthcare overhaul bill.

Durbin noted that the committee is considering hundreds of amendments Franken had not participated in debating; a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, added that it would be unfair to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat who has been working on the panel temporarily, to replace him with Franken during a time of such intense legislative activity.

Franken brings the Democratic caucus's count to 60 -- the number needed to stop filibusters. But since senators rarely vote in party lockstep -- especially on non-procedural votes -- the Democratic leadership's agenda is not assured passage.

"Most senators aren't sheep. They didn't come here to be told what to do by someone else,'' said Senator Evan Bayh, Democrat of Indiana.

UPDATE: Franken, himself, has played down the 60th vote, saying he'll represent practical Minnesotans and not automatically back the Democratic leadership.

But the National Republican Senatorial Committee wasted no time posting a web video warning of unfettered Democratic power.

"With 60 senators, Democrats have total control. No checks, no balances," it says on screen, over images of a fist-pumping Franken.

"They own everything, and have no one to blame now," it says on screen at the end.