The President has been charitable thus far in claiming that there are "philosophical" differences between the parties. From out here, it looks more like a visceral hatred for government on the part of Republicans rather than a real intellectual argument. That's a divide that can't be bridged. Because the Republicans continue to just lie, whether it's about process (see reconciliation) or the CBO reports on the existing plan. Ezra:
Lamar Alexander and Barack Obama just had a contentious exchange on this point, so it's worth settling the issue: Yes, the CBO found health-care reform would reduce premiums. The issue gets confused because it also found that access to subsidies would encourage people to buy more comprehensive insurance, which would mean that the value of their insurance would be higher after reform than before it. But that's not the same as insurance becoming more expensive: The fact that I could buy a nicer car after getting a better job suggests that cars are becoming pricier. The bottom line is that if you're comparing two plans that are exactly the same, costs go down after reform.
And the Republican plan, such as it is, and what happens to premiums under it? Jon Cohn:
So, yes, the Republican health care bill will lower premiums overall. But many people in poor health will see their premiums go up. And many people will get lower premiums only because they’re getting inferior coverage. Meanwhile, more than 50 million people will have no insurance whatsoever.
It brings to mind Barney Frank's confrontation over the summer with a teabagger: at some point it's like arguing with a dining room table.
*******
A reminder on the logistics. The summit runs from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., EST. The first four hours will be broadcast on MSNBC, they will switch to Olympics at 2:00, EST. Live C‑SPAN coverage continues for the duration on C‑SPAN3, C‑SPAN.org and C‑SPAN Radio. It is streamed live on whitehouse.gov and streaming on DKTV.