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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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:

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:

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.

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 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.”

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.”

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

Hillary Rodham Clinton -- former first lady, presidential contender, and now secretary of state -- knows painfully first-hand how difficult a lift health care is.

So she counsels patience as Congress and the White House tries to come up with a bill that can pass -- and that can work.

"I'm very encouraged by the action that's going on in the Senate. But I think I, probably better than anyone, know how difficult this is," she said in an interview aired on CNN today.

"But we've made a lot of progress in the last nine months. And I'm very optimistic we're going to get a health care plan that will really improve the lives of the American people," added Clinton, who led a White House health care task force in 1993-94 that submitted a detailed bill to Congress that was derided as "Hillarycare" and went nowhere.

In the interview, Clinton also preached patience on Obama's decision whether to dispatch more US troops to Afghanistan, saying that "it's to the president's credit that he has had the patience and the persistence to really force the process without responding prematurely."

The president, she said, needs to closely scrutinize the broad view of what the US mission in Afghanistan should be and how best to accomplish it, citing a recent strategic review.

"It was quite remarkable that the report came in with two big ideas that had not, in my view, been fully either explored or certainly implemented in the prior eight years," she said. "One was you've got to look at Afghanistan and Pakistan together. Now, that may sound self-evident. But that wasn't what was being done previously. And you have to have a much greater integration of the civilian and the military efforts."

The full transcript of Clinton's interview with CNN's Jill Dougherty, as provided by the network, is below:

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.

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.”

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.

President Obama, who vows to support science in contrast to his predecessor, is touring one of the nation's epicenters for research today to announce that $5 billion in grants have been awarded for cutting-edge work.

Obama is at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and is announcing that the institute has already handed out more than 12,000 grants from the $10 billion it received from the economic stimulus package he championed.

He said the grants are expected to create tens of thousands of jobs over the next two years and are part of a total of $100 billion in the stimulus package that is broadly going to science and technology.

“We know that this kind of investment will also lead to new jobs: tens of thousands of jobs conducting research, manufacturing and supplying medical equipment, and building and modernizing laboratories and research facilities,” Obama said in a statement. “I’ve long said, the goal of the Recovery Act was not to create make-work jobs, but jobs making a difference for our future. There is no better example than the jobs we will produce or preserve through the grants we are announcing this morning.”

The grants include $1 billion for research, using the technology produced by the Human Genome Project, to study genetic changes linked to cancer, heart, lung, and blood disease and autism -- in hopes of finding new treatments and cures. Of the money, $175 million will go to collect more than 20,000 tissue samples from more than 20 cancers, and determine in detail all of the genetic changes in thousands of these tumor samples.

“This historic investment demonstrates this administration’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of science and turning those discoveries into benefits for the American people. NIH researchers and grantees are already conducting some of the world’s most groundbreaking biomedical research," added Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who is accompanying Obama on the tour. “These awards will accelerate our progress towards the new medicines, treatments, and cures that will help Americans live longer, healthier lives."

UPDATE: Senators John Kerry and Paul Kirk today announced that Massachusetts will receive a total of $434,036,356 in Recovery Act funding for cutting edge medical research. The funding comes in the form of 1,148 separate grants for 84 schools and organizations across the state.

The funding will be used to support the full spectrum of medical research – from clinical studies to basic research.

“These significant investments in medical research across Massachusetts will save lives, create jobs and ensure that our state remains a world leader in medical technology,” said Senator John Kerry. “12,000 grants were awarded nationwide and more than 1,000 right here in our state. I'm grateful that President Obama has once again recognized the cutting edge work being done by our medical institutions.”

Senator Paul G. Kirk said, “These grants are well-deserved and will enable our world class universities, hospitals and research centers across the Commonwealth to continue their groundbreaking work in medical research. Massachusetts is and will continue to be a leader in this field, and I commend the Obama Administration for committing these essential funds.”

Obama's full remarks are below:

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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."

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."

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.

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.

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 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."

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.

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.

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."

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."

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.”

It was his most curious turn of phrase as President Obama tried to rally the troops on health care.

Speaking Thursday to Organizing for America, his grassroots army, Obama compared the worries that he's lost his momentum on health care to August 2007, when he was well behind in the Iowa caucuses -- which he eventually won as a springboard to the Democratic nomination -- and to last August, when the buzz over Sarah Palin temporarily boosted the Republican ticket.

"The media was obsessed with it, and cable was 24 hours a day, and 'Obama's lost his mojo,' " the president said to laughter. "You remember all that? There's something about August going into September where everybody in Washington gets all wee-weed up. I don't know what it is. But that's what happens."

The "wee-weed up" part raised some eyebrows, and White House spokesman Robert Gibbs was asked for a definition today.

"I don't know if I should do that from the podium. It's a phrase I use, but..." he said, telling reporters he wanted to keep the briefing "family friendly."

"I think wee-weed up is when people just get all nervous for no particular reason," Gibbs continued. "So this is just sort of an August pundit pattern between people getting overly nervous for something that still has a long way to go.

Finally, Obama's chief spokesman gave it up: The PG-rated term for "wee-weed" is bed-wetting.

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.

Another poll out today is cause for concern for President Obama's health care agenda as he leaves for vacation first at Camp David, then Martha's Vineyard.

In the Washington Post/ABC News survey, 49 percent of Americans say they believe Obama will be able to drive significant improvements in the health care system, down nearly 20 percentage points from before he took office.

As Republicans and other critics continue to hammer his health care proposals, confidence in Obama's overall leadership is also eroding, according to the poll: 49 percent of respondents express confidence that he will make the right decisions for the country, down from 60 percent at the 100-day mark in his presidency.

His overall job approval rating, 57 percent, is down 12 percentage points from its April peak, and his disapproval number has risen to 40 percent, its highest yet.

The national survey was conducted Aug. 13-17 and has a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released earlier this week suggested that Obama and Democrats had lost control of the health care message as many Americans believed what critics had been saying about the proposals.

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."

Vice President Joe Biden today announced that $1.2 billion in grants are available from the economic stimulus package for projects to accelerate the use of electronic health records -- an area where Massachusetts is at the forefront.

“With electronic health records, we are making health care safer; we’re making it more efficient; we’re making you healthier; and we’re saving money along the way, ”Biden said in the announcement in Chicago. “These are four necessities we need for healthcare in the 21st-century.”

The grants include $598 million to establish 70 Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers, which will provide hospitals and doctors with hands-on technical assistance, and $564 million to states and agencies to support information sharing with a nationwide system of networks.

"With these programs, we begin the process of creating a national, private and secure electronic health information system. The grants are designed to help doctors and hospitals acquire electronic health records and use them in meaningful ways to improve the health of patients and reduce waste and inefficiency,” added David Blumenthal, the administration's national coordinator for health information technology who is a former doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard professor.

“They will also help states lead the way in creating the infrastructure for health information exchange, which enables information to follow patients within and across communities, wherever the information is needed to help doctors and patients make the best decisions about medical care.”

But some specialists warn against expanding current electronic record systems, saying they are cumbersome and cannot easily share information.

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.”

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."

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.”

President Obama, all about health care all the time recently, returned his attention today again to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

For the first time, an African-American commander-in-chief addressed the nation's largest group of combat veterans, the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Phoenix.

While Obama has been stumping for his health care plan, renewed violence is threatening the handover of security to the government in Iraq, where 130,000 US troops remain. Obama has pledged to withdraw all combat troops by next August.

"The transition to full Iraqi responsibility for their own security is now underway. This progress is a testament to all those who have served in Iraq, both uniformed and civilian. And our nation owes these Americans -- and all who have given their lives -- a profound debt of gratitude," Obama told 13,000 VFW members.

"As Iraqis take control of their destiny, they will be tested and targeted. Those who seek to sow sectarian division will attempt more senseless bombings, more killing of innocents. This we know," he added. "But as we move forward, the Iraqi people must know that the United States will keep its commitments."

In Afghanistan, US and coalition forces dealt with the bloodiest month yet in July and casualties are piling up this month as well in advance of a key national election. About 62,000 US troops are fighting there, including most of the 21,000 additional forces that Obama dispatched to lead a new strategy to root out al Qaeda and its Taliban allies in the remote border region with Pakistan.

"They've gone into new areas -- taking the fight to the Taliban in villages and towns where residents have been terrorized for years. They're adapting new tactics, knowing that it's not enough to kill extremists and terrorists; we also need to protect the Afghan people and improve their daily lives. And today, our troops are helping to secure polling places for this week's election so Afghans can choose the future that they want," Obama said.

"These new efforts have not been without a price. The fighting has been fierce. More Americans have given their lives. And as always, the thoughts and prayers of every American are with those who make the ultimate sacrifice in our defense. As I said when I announced this strategy, there will be more difficult days ahead. The insurgency in Afghanistan didn’t just happen overnight. And we won’t defeat it overnight. This will not be quick nor easy," the president added.

"But we must never forget. This is not a war of choice. This is a war of necessity. Those who attacked America on 9/11 are plotting to do so again. If left unchecked, the Taliban insurgency will mean an even larger safe haven from which al Qaeda would plot to kill more Americans. This is not only a war worth fighting. This is fundamental to the defense of our people."

In his speech, the president also reprised "a vision American leadership" that amounts to the "Obama doctrine" on the use of military force: "I have made it a priority to enlist all elements of our national power in defense of our national security -- our diplomacy and development, our economic might, and our moral example. Because one of the best ways to lead our troops wisely is prevent the conflicts that cost American blood and treasure tomorrow."

"I will only send you into harm's way when it is absolutely necessary," he added. "When I do, it will be based on good intelligence and guided by a sound strategy. I will give you a clear mission, defined goals, and the equipment and support you need to get the job done."

The Obama doctrine also includes a top-to-bottom review of Pentagon spending and weapons procurement to root out waste and fraud. "We cannot build the 21st century military we need -- and maintain the fiscal responsibility that Americans demand -- unless we fundamentally reform the way our defense establishment does business," he said. "It's a simple fact. Every dollar wasted in our defense budget is a dollar we can't spend to care for our troops, or protect America, or prepare for the future."

He threw in a joke about an expensive new presidential helicopter he doesn't want: "Maybe you heard about this. Among its other capabilities, it would let me cook a meal while under nuclear attack. I’ll tell you something. If the United States of America is under nuclear attack, the last thing on my mind will be whipping up a snack."

Obama also stressed his efforts to help returning veterans, including the new GI Bill that includes enhanced educational benefits.

"We will fulfill our responsibility to our forces and our families," he said. "That is why we're increasing military pay, that's building better family housing and funding more childcare and counseling to help families cope with the stresses of war. And we've changed the rules so military spouses can better compete for federal jobs and pursue their careers.

"We will fulfill our responsibility to our wounded warriors. For those still in uniform, we're investing billions of dollars for more treatment centers, more case managers, and better medical care so our troops can recover and return to where they want to be -- with their units."

Many veterans are also wary about what a health care overhaul would mean to them, especially after the Obama administration initially floated the idea of charging vets' private insurance for treatment related to service injuries.

The proposal was designed to generate more than $540 million a year for the Department of Veterans Affairs, but after veterans' groups leaders complained in March, the White House said that the president, after hearing concerns that the proposal "might, under certain circumstances, affect veterans and their families' ability to access health care," has "instructed that its consideration be dropped."

To ease those concerns, Obama made a blanket promise today: "One thing that reform won't change is veterans health care. No one is going to take away your benefits. That is the plain and simple truth."

Obama's full remarks are below:

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.

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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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:

President Obama's town hall meeting on healthcare on Tuesday in Portsmouth, N.H., will almost certainly be far less of a free-for-all than the raucous ones that members of Congress have been having, filled with shouting matches, pushing and shoving, and even some arrests.

It is the president's first public healthcare event since the protests at town halls became big news -- and it is happening in the birthplace of the American ideal of town meetings and small-d democracy. (The White House this evening confirmed the start time as 1 p.m. EDT)

As usual for such events, the White House controlled the distribution of the free tickets to get into the gym at Portsmouth High School. And, per usual, the Secret Service will take care of any unruliness.

But that won't stop protestors outside the event.

According to an invitation obtained by NBC News, a group called the New Hampshire Republican Volunteer Coalition is urging members to make sure the other side gets heard and noticed by the media.

"Barack Hussein Obama will be arriving in Portsmouth on Tuesday to hold a STAGED "Town Hall Meeting", where he will essentially hand pick who the guests will be and what types of questions will be asked of him," the call to arms reads. "A MASSIVE protest rally is being organized just outside of the facility where Obama will be holding his 'Town Hall Meeting' to promote his plan for a government takeover of your healthcare decisions."

"There will be news media from all over the world at this event and it will be the ideal opportunity for us to tell the rest of the country exactly how NH voters feel about Obamacare (taxed/rationed healthcare). It will be the most important pro-liberty event of the year in NH and it is critically important that every one of us attend," the invitation continues. "If you can, bring a sign that says something like, 'OBAMACARE=TAXED/RATIONED HEALTHCARE', etc."

Supporters of the Democratic healthcare bills also plan to show their strength outside the town hall.

The AFL-CIO said today that New Hampshire workers "will respectfully make the case for major health care reform and speak out against the ‘mob rule’ tactics of the opposition."

“New Hampshire workers desperately need major health care reform and we will not let our voices be silenced by the corporate funded mobs on the other side,” state AFL-CIO President Mark MacKenzie said in a statement.

Asked about the current discourse at a joint news conference this afternoon at the summit with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, Obama said, "We are having a vigorous debate in the United States, and I think that's a healthy thing."

He repeated that healthcare overhaul is closer than at any time in 40 years and addressing whether there were parts of the more government-heavy Canadian health plan to emulate, said the US must come up with an uniquely American solution.

Opponents, the president said, seem to want to talk about Canadian healthcare.

"I suspect that you Canadians will continue to get dragged in by those who oppose reform, even though I've said nothing about Canadian healthcare reform. I don't find Canadians particularly scary, but I guess some of the opponents of reform think that they make a good bogeyman.

"I think that's a mistake. And I suspect that once we get into the fall and people look at the actual legislation that's being proposed, that more sensible and reasoned arguments will emerge. And we're going to get -- we're going to get this passed."

Speaking of the contentious town halls, Democrats have been complaining that the conservative activists and their Republican allies have been hijacking them.

In an opinion piece in today's USA Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her wingman Representative Steny Hoyer went further, calling the disruptions downright un-American.

"It is now evident that an ugly campaign is underway not merely to misrepresent the health insurance reform legislation, but to disrupt public meetings and prevent members of Congress and constituents from conducting a civil dialogue," they wrote. "These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views — but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American."

Republicans strongly dispute that, arguing that opponents are only venting their frustrations and objections to the Democratic bills.

UPDATE: Asked about the town hall, White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton said today that there will be about 1,800 people in the audience, including members of the general public and those who received tickets through members of Congress.

"New Hampshire is a place where people are really feeling the pinch of healthcare reform, and it's a place where he can talk specifically about getting real consumer protections in place, like making sure people can get covered if they have a preexisting condition," Burton said.

"We expect that there will be a vigorous debate, as there have been at plenty of town halls that President Obama has had as president and as candidate, and we look forward to it," Burton told reporters on Air Force One this afternoon.

Asked about Pelosi and Hoyer calling some of the protests "un-American," Burton said, "Well, I think there's actually a pretty long tradition of people shouting at politicians in America. The president thinks that if people want to come and have a spirited debate about health care, a real vigorous conversation about it, that's a part of the American tradition and he encourages that, because people do have questions and concerns."

"Now, if you just want to come to a town hall so that you can disrupt and so that you can scream over another person, he doesn’t think that that's productive," Burton added. "And as a country, we've been able to make progress when people actually talk out what our problems are, not try to shout each other down. So he thinks that we're going to be able to have a constructive conversation tomorrow and he'll continue to do that at the town hall later in the week and throughout this effort."

"There's obviously a lot of passion on one side of this, and that's why people are showing up and screaming. And again he doesn't think that that's constructive. But, you know, there's passion on the other side, too -- the people who want health care reform and who think that it's wrong that health insurance companies can stop you from getting coverage just because you have a preexisting condition, or drop you from coverage just because you get sick," Burton said.

"There's obviously been some orchestration of some of the folks who go out there, but I don't think that that is as important as the fact that, A, there are people who do have legitimate concerns and questions about health care reform and the President wants to have an opportunity to answer those folks and wants members of Congress to have the opportunity to answer those questions, as well. And that's why it's important that when people go to town hall meetings, if you want to have a tussle over an issue, that's fine; but screaming so that you can't hear the answer to whatever the complaint isn't moving the ball forward for anybody."

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:

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."

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.

The Obama team hit back hard on what it considered lies and disinformation during the presidential campaign, going toe to toe on the Internet with its foes, including by creating its own "Fight the Smears" website.

Now that he's in the White House, the Obama media operation is doing the same to protect his healthcare push.

When a conservative blogger's claim -- backed up by video clips from the campaign trail -- that Obama planned to do away with private health insurance was given wide exposure on the popular Drudge Report website, the White House responded today with a video of its own.

"Hi. I’m Linda Douglass. I’m the communications director for the White House Office of Health Reform, and one of my jobs is to keep track of all the disinformation that’s out there about health-insurance reform. And there are a lot of very deceiving headlines out there right now, such as this one -- take a look at this one. This one says, ‘Uncovered Video: Obama Explains How His Health Care Plan Will Eliminate Private Insurance.’ Well, nothing can be farther from the truth,” the video says.

Douglass goes on to rebut the claim, showing clips and arguing that Obama's remarks were taken completely out of context.

On its blog, the White House also urged supporters to keep an eye out for misleading healthcare fodder. "Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."

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."