Politico reports that the President Obama's next step in his effort to pass comprehensive health reform is to head back to the negotiating table with Congressional Republicans.
Obama told supporters at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser that he wants to have a meeting with Republicans, Democrats and health care experts to go through the bills "in a methodical way."
"And then, I think that we've got to go ahead and move forward on a vote," he said....
The president's suggestion to go back to the negotiating table with Republicans, even for a day, conflicts with the partisan path that congressional Democratic leaders have been developing for the last two weeks to pass a bill. It is also likely to prove fruitless: House and Senate Republicans say the bill just needs to be scrapped.
Obama's first priority, however, remains his jobs bill. In his State of the Union address, he made clear that unemployment was his top priority, placing health care on the back burner, at least in the short term.Obama appeared to be sketching out a strategy that involves putting Republicans on the spot, and if they decline to take a meaningful role, Democrats will push ahead with a vote regardless. White House officials have been hinting at this kind of approach since losing the Senate's filibuster-proof majority last month, arguing that Republicans need to take a bigger role in governing or suffer the consequences.
