Boehner has been discouragingly quiet. I've been counting on him for some ridicule-worthy flip-flopping grandstanding. Alas, none of that from the master, the Orange-Hued One. And Mitch McConnell's only contribution has been to be unofficial time-keeper, complaining that Dems are getting too much time.
On the other hand, we had Eric Cantor and his prop, the stack of paper representing the Senate bill, and the 11-page Presidential proposal. What, exactly, his point was was unclear. But he got a sharp rebuke from Obama in return: "These are the kind of political things we do that prevent us from actually having a conversation."
And, of course, the McCain exchange.
McCain, facing a tough primary challenge from the right, used Republican talking points about "special deals" which are no longer in the bill and cited the 2,400-page document that passed the Senate.
He called on Obama to "start over," and said voters "want us to sit down together and do what's best for all Americans."
Obama reminded McCain (R-AZ) that "We're not campaigning anymore. The election is over."
"I'm reminded of that every day," McCain retorted.
Thus far, not a lot in the way of ideas from the Republicans, but primarily grandstanding and insistence that the only way forward is to start over. They're pushing just one idea forward, high-risk pools. As I commented at the HuffPo summit liveblog:
As of the end of 2008, 35 states had high risk pools, but covering fewer than 210,000 people. In some of these states there are long waiting lists for these programs, but the biggest barrier is cost. Because the enrollees are among the most expensive people to cover, these pools can't spread their costs among high- and low-cost individuals. The premiums for these pools are high (see KFF) and out of reach for many.
Obama's assessment, so far:
"I think we're establishing that there are actually some areas of real agreement," he said, stopping for a minute outside the gates. "And we're starting to focus on what the real disagreements are. If you look at the issue of how much government should be involved, the argument that the Republicans are making really isn't that this is a government takeover of health care but rather that we're ensuring the -- we're regulating the insurance market too much. And that's a legitimate philosophical disagreement. We'll hopefully be able to explore it a little more in the afternoon."
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A reminder on the logistics. The summit runs until 4:00 p.m., 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.