WaPo:
Obama stays on offense with health-care proposal
Amid speculation that the White House would narrow its ambitions, president sticks to goal of comprehensive changes to the system.
McClatchy:
Obama's blueprint, or a bipartisan summit to discuss health care scheduled for Thursday, seemed unlikely to trigger a new bipartisan effort to pass a bill, however. Republicans reacted bitterly to the proposal.
"The president has crippled the credibility of this week's summit by proposing the same massive government takeover of health care based on a partisan bill the American people have already rejected," said House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky branded the Obama plan "another partisan, back-room bill."
Boehner and McConnell figured they had won. They figured wrong.
USA Today:
Obama health care plan to dominate this week's discussion
NY Times editorial:
Mr. Obama’s proposal, which would provide coverage to more than 30 million uninsured people, is a firm basis for both the Senate and House to move forward with comprehensive reform.
David Brooks: More "just say no" disguised as analysis.
NY Times Room For Debate:
Can Obama Bypass Republicans on Health?
You betcha. Also.
WaPo Behind the Numbers:
Here's how the items in the plan stack up in the polls, where data are available. (Some bullet points -- such as the call to curtail "waste, fraud and abuse" -- hardly need polls to assess their popularity.)...
The new proposals also include new taxes on individuals with incomes above $200,000 and joint-filers who make more than $250,000: "Broaden the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) Tax Base for High-Income Taxpayers." In the June Post-ABC poll, 60 percent supported raising taxes on these higher-income individuals to pay for health-care reform. And in a January Post-ABC poll, 58 percent preferred a tax targeted at wealthier Americans rather than new levies on high-benefit plans, matching the rebalancing in the president's plan (see: "Delay and Reform the High-Cost Plan Excise Tax"). The new plan does include a tax on "Cadillac" plans, which is opposed by 55 percent in the new Newsweek poll.
Most of the points covered are popular with the public; don't you believe the crap about health reform not being popular.
WaPo: Want bipartisanship?
Should Congress continue to work on legislation to revamp the health care system, the Kaiser poll points to five areas of cross-party agreement. In each of the following areas, more than six in 10 Democrats, Republicans and independents alike say it's "extremely" or "very" important that the provisions become law...
WaPo and note the headline:
Job-creation bill stays alive
Newcomer Scott Brown, other GOP senators vote with Democrats to advance measure to floor vote.
With Democrats being credited with job creation, and with the upcoming passage of a health reform bill, the bottom has been hit and things are beginning to look up.