National Briefing

OBAMA

1. Now I Know My ABCs

During the 6/24 WH health care town hall, Pres. Obama "struggled to explain" whether his proposals "would force normal Americans to make sacrifices that wealthier, more powerful people -- like" Obama himself -- "wouldn't face."

The "probing questions came from two skeptical neurologists" during ABC News' special on health care reform, "Questions for the President: Prescription for America," anchored from the WH by Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson.

NYU Dr. Orrin Devinsky said elites often propose health care solutions that limit options for the general public, secure in the knowledge that if they or their loves ones get sick, they will be able to afford the best care available, even if it's not provided by insurance. Devinsky asked Obama "pointedly if he would be willing to promise that he wouldn't seek such extraordinary help for his wife or daughters if they became sick and the public plan he's proposing limited the tests or treatment they can get."

Obama "refused to make such a pledge, though he allowed that if 'it's my family member, if it's my wife, if it's my children, if it's my grandmother, I always want them to get the very best care." Obama: "There's a whole bunch of care that's being provided that every study, that every bit of evidence that we have indicates may not be making us healthier" (Tapper/Travers, ABCNews.com, 6/24).

During "nearly 90 minutes of questions and answers, Obama got just one question about covering the uninsured, underscoring the political reality that the key to Obama securing a victory" on health care reform "is to convince middle-class workers with health insurance the reform is needed and will benefit them." He "returned time and again to his mantra: 'If you are happy with your plan and you are happy with your doctor, then we don't want you to have to change'" (Young, The Hill, 6/25).

Obama also "left the door open to a new tax on health care benefits." Obama, on Senate proposals to tax workers on expensive insurance policies: "I don't want to prejudge what they're doing" (Espo/Elliott, AP, 6/25). More: "There is going to have to be some compromise."

And "for the second consecutive day, he gave a forceful defense of the need to create" a gov't insurance plan to compete with private insurers. He challenged GOPers who say the public option will lead to a gov't takeover of health care and interfere with the doctor-patient relationship. Obama: "They're wrong" (Brown, Politico, 6/25).

House Min. Whip Eric Cantor, on what he thought about the special: "The president has said a lot about health care, and maintains it is his number one domestic priority. And clearly, we've got to do something to bring about health care reform, because we won't have the system that we're used to in this country if we don't do that. But what is so frightening about what's coming out of the White House right now is, first of all, the president is spending money that we don't have."

More Cantor: "And we will, if we're not careful, end up, we follow his government-centered plan, create a situation in which people don't have access to the doctors they want, won't have the kind of choices of treatment that they want, and, long-term, the consequences are going to be, you will see tens of millions of people come off of the insurance plans that they like and won't be able to have it" ("Fox & Friends," FNC, 6/25).

I Got Five On It

Obama also "made a strong pitch for health care reform" to a handful of key govs. at the WH 6/24.

Obama, after his meeting with five govs.: "There's no perfect unanimity across the table in terms of every single aspect of reform. ... I think everybody here wants to make sure that governors have flexibility, that they have input into how legislation is being shaped on the Hill. ... And we're committed to working with them in the weeks and months to come to make sure that when we get health reform done, it is in partnership with the states, where the rubber so often hits the road" (Lee/Brown, Politico.com, 6/24).

The govs. "were adamant that the restructuring of the health-care system not push new costs on states." MI Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D): "If we're going to add more population onto the Medicaid rolls, there has to be a way to pay for that" (Fletcher, Washington Post, 6/25).

It's Centrifugal Motion, It's A Perpetual Campaign

The Obama admin. "is responding to unfavorable trends in public opinion polls by intensifying its message discipline and seizing as many opportunities for publicity as the schedule allows."

Although 72% in a recent CBS News/New York Times poll "said they supported health care reform, three different polls have shown support waning for Obama's fiscal policies." And the admin. "is not taking any chances on losing the health care fight." GOP consultant Jim McGrath: "The discipline from this administration is somewhat legendary. ... At some point, he risks overexposure, but right now it's working and that is probably all they are looking at" (Mason, Washington Examiner, 6/25).

However, cong. GOP leaders "see in Obama's approach a chance to paint" him "as disengaged from the work required to address the country's ills." Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX): "It's the perpetual campaign. ... It's photo-ops; it doesn't happen to include doing the hard work it takes to solve big problems that he talks about but I don't ever see him doing" (Raju, Politico, 6/25).

An A For Effort

Cong. Dems "say they are pleased with how" the WH is handling GOP attacks on the costs of health care reform and other Dem priorities, saying Obama "has begun to effectively convey a message that these initiatives will not cause the deficit to get out of hand."

House Dem aides say Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Maj. Leader Steny Hoyer "in recent weeks have spoken to" Obama and WH CoS Rahm Emanuel "about their concerns over the GOP's escalating attacks centered on the costs of" Dem proposals -- "and that both leaders are satisfied that Obama is dealing with it."

WH officials "say Obama's message is nothing new and that he was aware of the vulnerability of his proposals to such charges since the beginning and has consistently emphasized -- and believes in -- a commitment to fiscal discipline." But some cong. Dems "regarded as anemic and even gimmicky" earlier WH efforts to display deficit restraint, pointing to moves like the early May announcement that $17B in savings would be achieved by cutting programs.

But Dems "are gratified by Obama's relentless focus on using health reform to reduce costs and on paying for any public insurance option with cuts in other areas and tax increases." A senior House Dem aide, on the WH: "They understand the concern" (Koffler, Roll Call, 6/25).

Hello, Daal-y

Politico's Javers writes, "the Barack Obama brand is as much about being a personal example to the nation as it is about being a political figure. But the danger of that frothy mix of glamour and domesticity is that" Obama "could become in the public mind something he never sought to be: the Martha Stewart of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave."

And political veterans "say the fine line between what's inspiring and what's annoying can be difficult to spot in advance."

Obama "veered further toward Martha Stewart Living territory in an interview with a Pakistani newspaper" on 6/21. "He told the interviewer about his college travels in Pakistan and talked about the exotic dishes he learned to cook there." Obama: "Keema ... daal ... you name it, I can cook it."

Also, Obama noted, "he reads Urdu poetry."

"All this is driving certain people -- mostly" GOPers -- "nuts." GOP consultant Rick Wilson: "This is a guy who was elected as a celebrity and is governing as a celebrity. ... If George Bush had been photographed taking his daughters out for ice cream, it would have been: 'Nero fiddles while Rome burns'" (6/25).

Every Roosevelt Has Its Thorn

Bill Clinton writes in Time, Franklin Roosevelt "knew that in a highly dynamic time like his -- or the one we're in now -- you have to do a lot more than one thing at a time. I was often criticized, just as" Obama "is now, for trying to do too many things at once. Roosevelt understood that in a complex and perilous situation, you have to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time, and he was masterful in doing a variety of difficult things simultaneously."

The Depression "gave" FDR "the chance to use the power" of gov't "to complete the work his cousin had begun: to build a great middle class, help the poor work their way into it and give Americans a modicum of security in old age. His leadership during World War II and the plans he made" for the UN "and a permanent leadership role for the U.S. on the world stage cemented his legacy as one of our greatest" POTUSes. "I thought of both Roosevelts when I told Americans that we needed a new social contract for the 21st century, one that would keep us moving toward a 'more perfect union' in a highly interdependent, complex, ever changing world."

"That is the challenge" Obama "has inherited. I believe he will succeed in his efforts at economic recovery, health-care reform and taking big steps on climate change. Along the way, I hope he will be inspired by" FDR's "concern for all Americans, his relentless optimism, his penchant for experimentation, his relish for spirited debate among brilliant advisers and his unshakable faith in the promise of America" (6/25).

The Audacity Of Pope

Obama will meet with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on 7/10 "to discuss a range of issues" relating to peace.

Obama is traveling to Russia, Italy and Ghana in early Jul., his fifth int'l trip since taking office. He will meet with the pope during a stay in Rome, WH press sec. Robert Gibbs said, after he attends meetings of the G-8.

While Obama has been criticized by some U.S. bishops for supporting abortion rights, "and his commencement speech at Notre Dame last month was protested, the Vatican sought to work with" the WH "to set up a meeting with" Obama (Zeleny, "The Caucus," NYTimes.com, 6/24).

Everybody Light Your Vegas

Obama said 6/24 "he is acutely aware" of NV's foreclosure crisis "and is evaluating whether more can be done to help homeowners, including by redirecting unused bank bailout money for homeowner relief."

On a "particular problem vexing Nevadans -- the inability of many homeowners to qualify for refinancing because they have lost so much equity in their homes" -- Obama "would not commit to any changes. The question is under review, he said." Obama: "There are folks who still find themselves having done all the right things, always made their mortgage payments, always been responsible, and are still suffering. ... This is something that we're taking very seriously."

Obama "said just days ago he asked" Treas. Sec. Tim Geithner for a top-to-bottom evaluation of the admin.'s homeowner relief program, Making Home Affordable, to determine "what's working and what's not, and whether there's more that we can do" (Mascaro, Las Vegas Sun, 6/25).

As I Went Down In The River To Pray

Southern Baptists "praised" Obama's election, but said at their 6/24 nat'l meeting that they oppose his views on abortion and other social issues.

Leaders of the nation's largest Protestant denomination voted in favor of a resolution to "share our nation's pride" in Obama's historic victory. But Southeastern Baptist Seminary pres. Daniel Akin said Southern Baptists have "strong disagreement" with many of Obama's policies. The resolution "decried Obama's support of abortion rights, embryonic stem-cell research and the reduction of funding for abstinence education."

Richard Land, who leads the convo's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said the resolution "has its hand on the pulse beat of where Southern Baptists are" (Lovan, AP, 6/24).

Camp David And Goliath

Obama "seldom finds time to go" to Camp David, because, he says, "his daughters' schedules take priority."

Obama: "We love Camp David, and we'll probably end up spending quite a bit of time up there during this summer. ... You know, we had travel. I had to go to Normandy. And then the girls had, Sasha had her birthday party here, and she was flying folks in for a pool party. So, really, it revolves around the girls' social schedule. If Michelle and I had our way, we'd go there every weekend."Obama "has used his spare weekend time recently to squeeze in some golf at courses near" DC (West, Baltimore Sun, 6/25).

Editor-in-Chief: Amy Walter

Executive Editor: John Mercurio

Managing Editor: Quinn McCord

Senior Editors: Maura O'Brien, Tim Sahd, and Reid Wilson

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