The key passage in the Obama-Tapper interview, in which Obama said that Congress needs to change the Stupak Coathanger amendment, is this:
"I laid out a very simple principle, which is this is a health care bill, not an abortion bill," Obama said. "And we're not looking to change what is the principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortions."
Saying the bill cannot change the status quo regarding the ban on federally funding abortions, the President said "there are strong feelings on both sides" about an amendment passed on Saturday and added to the legislation, "and what that tells me is that there needs to be some more work before we get to the point where we're not changing the status quo."
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"I want to make sure that the provision that emerges meets that test -- that we are not in some way sneaking in funding for abortions, but, on the other hand, that we're not restricting women's insurance choices," he said.
I hope he follows up those remarks with phone calls to Ben Nelson and Bob Casey, because they're working on their own version of Stupak as we speak. Stupak goes well beyond Hyde, as President Obama iterates in this interview--this bill is not intended to change Hyde.
The House bill already had Hyde language established, this amendment was superfluous and little more than attempt to make political hay off of a critical issue, to either try to kill healthcare reform altogether, or to set up a vote where a handful can still brag about how conservative they are back home, but not to have to vote against a highly popular bill.
Both Senate reform bills contain Hyde language as well, with the SFC creating a firewall between the financing and the HELP committee leaving it up to the HHS Secretary to determine the policy within the confines of Hyde. It remains to be seen if Obama's warning will be enough to keep the Senate from following the House's lead, but if they're paying attention to their President, and if they're paying attention to their base, they'll leave well enough alone on this one.