Obamacare Goes Primetime (Even if President Obama abandons the public option, the GOP won’t kowtow)

NRO ^ | 9/4/2009 | Robert Costa

[markomalley]

For Republicans, August was a dream — Obamacare sinking by the day, angry protestors confronting befuddled or insulting Democratic politicians, Obama’s poll numbers sagging. But the calendar inevitably turns, and it’s on to September.

This week, the president’s team signaled that it might finally be ready to shift away from Obamacare’s current malignant incarnation. Maybe. They have mentioned no details, but David Axelrod and others are whispering to the media that on September 9, when President Obama makes his next major health-care policy speech to a joint session of Congress, things will start to move toward the center. We’ve heard this tune before.

Just what do Republicans make of this latest twist in Obama’s message? Their strategists are heartened by the course of the debate so far but doubt Obama will go far enough in jettisoning his current approach. Still they still see potential peril.

“Axelrod’s not stupid,” a former GOP official who wished not to be identified tells NRO. “They’re recalibrating to salvage a political win. The White House misjudged their audience. They campaigned to the public for the last six months when their audience is Congress. It’s a classic mistake of a new White House. Reagan didn’t make that mistake on tax cuts, his signature issue early in his first term. As a popular new president he spent his points charming Tip O’Neill and personally working the moderate Democrats and built a majority to pass his top priority. Reagan’s people got it. Obama’s people are in campaign mode. They need to learn it’s not about the TelePrompTer, it is about the one-on-one with the members of Congress.”

[mouske]

“Obama will NEVER abandon the public option. It will be renamed, morphed, hidden, triggered, delayed or whatever. But it will not be abandoned.”

It will be one of the first recommendations of the Health Benefits Advisory Committee called for in HR3200. Congress will vote “all or none” on the package of annual recommendations from this committee.

By the way, the composition of the committee will be:

Surgeon General, member & chairman (appointed by president);
9 members - non-federal employees (appointed by president);
9 members - non-federal employees (appointed by Comptroller General);
an even number up to 8 federal employees (appointed by president).

[freeangel]

“He’s trying to find another way”

Executive order?

[ballplayer]

Well he is right about the Republicans putting out a Free Market Plan because the Democrats are Framing this debate as Obama Wants to help The Poor and the Republicans are for the “Status Quo”. You cant let them get away with that

[socialismisinsidious]

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