grizzer
New member
Dont know how to poll but I think Obama sans teleprompter won going away; McCain lost badly & should retire.
Winners and losers from the health care summit
The health care summit at Blair House. Photo by Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images
After spending our day watching the high-stakes or, at the very least, high-profile health care summit at Blair House, we came up with a list of our winners and losers from the proceedings.
Those who we think soared and bored are below. Have your own thoughts? The comments section is open for business.
WINNERS
Tom Coburn: The Oklahoma senator is among the most conservative voices in Congress but his remarks emerged as a -- rare -- rallying point during the day. Coburn's comments on the necessity of eliminating waste and fraud from the health care system drew nods from the president and kudos from a handful of Democratic and Republican politicians gathered at Blair House. In a room dominated by politicians trying to score political points or vamp for the cameras, Coburn stood out.
President Obama: Did the president solve the problem of passing a health care bill today? No. But, there was never a reasonable expectation on either side that he would. What Obama did do was paint himself -- for anyone who was watching -- as someone genuinely interested in compromise and genuinely interested in engaging with his Republican colleagues. (Whether that was a facade or the real thing remains a major point of debate between partisans.) Obama also didn't let Republicans run rough-shod over him either. He clashed with Sens. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) and John McCain (Ariz.) -- showing a feistiness (albeit a measured feistiness) that is likely to be well received by the party's base. Obama's performance saved, to our mind, what could have been a disastrous day for his party as he got relatively little help from his party's representatives in Congress throughout the day.
Process: While President Obama sought repeatedly to keep the focus on future-oriented policy solutions, the discussion repeatedly devolved into process. Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) dedicated the majority of his remarks to detailing the deals cut during the health care debate while Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) spent much of his time defending the idea of reconciliation to pass major measures of the bill. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) even brought process to the Blair House discussion -- noting that Democrats had been given more time to talk than Republicans. (Obama shot back that he had not counted to his own speaking time in the total since he is the president.) The more process coverage, the worse for Democrats who have been hamstrung to date by the focus on how the bill becomes a law rather than the policy guts of the proposal.
The Senate: There was roughly an equal number of House and Senate members gathered at Blair House but it felt very much like a debate between senators. With the exception of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) -- the GOP's dedicated policy guy -- there was very little serious engagement in the talks from the House side.
Paul Ryan: Speaking of the Wisconsin Republican, it was clear that the president regards him as a serious thinker and adversary while his GOP colleagues often deferred to him on matters of health care and budget policy. Ryan helped burnish his credentials a rising star within the Republican party; he was partisan but drove his attacks using data rather than pure political rhetoric.
C-SPAN: What a day for the Fix's favorite television network. Full coverage of the summit as well as a flawless Internet feed for those not close to a television. Well done.
LOSERS
Harry Reid: Reid is the consummate behind the scenes player. And, today he reminded us again of why. Reid, who spoke within the summit's first hour, was extremely combative -- a tone that seemed out of step with the overall tenor of the meeting in which most attendees tried to pay at least lip service to the idea of bipartisanship before launching into the attacks. Not Reid. "Let's make sure we talk about facts," Reid scolded Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). Later, he interrupted Coburn and said the Oklahoma Senator was trying to "filibuster."
John McCain: From the start of his remarks around mid-day, McCain seemed on the verge of losing his temper and threw several rhetorical jabs (including one about Obama breaking his campaign promise about holding the health care hearings on C-SPAN) into his speech. ("We're not campaigning anymore," Obama shot back at McCain. "The election is over.") Later, McCain hit Obama again for the special carve out for Florida in the health care bill. Obama agreed with the McCain critique, a move that caught the Arizona Republican off guard and left him speechless. In truth, McCain's target audience today was not people in the room or the national media but rather conservative Republicans in his home state -- the people he needs to beat back a challenge from his ideological right from former Rep. J.D. Hayworth.
Genuine Discussion: With a few exceptions, the bulk of the summit -- not surprisingly -- was focused on the rehashing of talking points rather than a serious engagement on the issues. Obama repeatedly attempted to keep speakers (of both parties) on topic but the conversation felt like politicians talking at -- rather than to -- one another. The idea of a serious policy debate was probably sacrificed the moment the summit was televised. But, it was jarring to watch what was purported to be a discussion devolve into a series of (semi)connected stump speeches.
Public Option: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Md.) were the only ones to mention the issue that dominated the health care debate for months on end last fall -- and that was in the context of it being sacrificed as a compromise to Republicans. And, as Fix colleague Alec MacGillis pointed out, Obama was very careful to emphasize that people shopping for coverage on the new health insurance exchanges he is proposing would be choosing only among 'private plans.'"
Cable Networks: With the exception of the Obama-McCain tête à têete, the day was largely devoid of the sort of made-for-TV moments that help drive ratings.
Winners and losers from the health care summit
The health care summit at Blair House. Photo by Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images
After spending our day watching the high-stakes or, at the very least, high-profile health care summit at Blair House, we came up with a list of our winners and losers from the proceedings.
Those who we think soared and bored are below. Have your own thoughts? The comments section is open for business.
WINNERS
Tom Coburn: The Oklahoma senator is among the most conservative voices in Congress but his remarks emerged as a -- rare -- rallying point during the day. Coburn's comments on the necessity of eliminating waste and fraud from the health care system drew nods from the president and kudos from a handful of Democratic and Republican politicians gathered at Blair House. In a room dominated by politicians trying to score political points or vamp for the cameras, Coburn stood out.
President Obama: Did the president solve the problem of passing a health care bill today? No. But, there was never a reasonable expectation on either side that he would. What Obama did do was paint himself -- for anyone who was watching -- as someone genuinely interested in compromise and genuinely interested in engaging with his Republican colleagues. (Whether that was a facade or the real thing remains a major point of debate between partisans.) Obama also didn't let Republicans run rough-shod over him either. He clashed with Sens. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) and John McCain (Ariz.) -- showing a feistiness (albeit a measured feistiness) that is likely to be well received by the party's base. Obama's performance saved, to our mind, what could have been a disastrous day for his party as he got relatively little help from his party's representatives in Congress throughout the day.
Process: While President Obama sought repeatedly to keep the focus on future-oriented policy solutions, the discussion repeatedly devolved into process. Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) dedicated the majority of his remarks to detailing the deals cut during the health care debate while Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) spent much of his time defending the idea of reconciliation to pass major measures of the bill. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) even brought process to the Blair House discussion -- noting that Democrats had been given more time to talk than Republicans. (Obama shot back that he had not counted to his own speaking time in the total since he is the president.) The more process coverage, the worse for Democrats who have been hamstrung to date by the focus on how the bill becomes a law rather than the policy guts of the proposal.
The Senate: There was roughly an equal number of House and Senate members gathered at Blair House but it felt very much like a debate between senators. With the exception of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) -- the GOP's dedicated policy guy -- there was very little serious engagement in the talks from the House side.
Paul Ryan: Speaking of the Wisconsin Republican, it was clear that the president regards him as a serious thinker and adversary while his GOP colleagues often deferred to him on matters of health care and budget policy. Ryan helped burnish his credentials a rising star within the Republican party; he was partisan but drove his attacks using data rather than pure political rhetoric.
C-SPAN: What a day for the Fix's favorite television network. Full coverage of the summit as well as a flawless Internet feed for those not close to a television. Well done.
LOSERS
Harry Reid: Reid is the consummate behind the scenes player. And, today he reminded us again of why. Reid, who spoke within the summit's first hour, was extremely combative -- a tone that seemed out of step with the overall tenor of the meeting in which most attendees tried to pay at least lip service to the idea of bipartisanship before launching into the attacks. Not Reid. "Let's make sure we talk about facts," Reid scolded Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). Later, he interrupted Coburn and said the Oklahoma Senator was trying to "filibuster."
John McCain: From the start of his remarks around mid-day, McCain seemed on the verge of losing his temper and threw several rhetorical jabs (including one about Obama breaking his campaign promise about holding the health care hearings on C-SPAN) into his speech. ("We're not campaigning anymore," Obama shot back at McCain. "The election is over.") Later, McCain hit Obama again for the special carve out for Florida in the health care bill. Obama agreed with the McCain critique, a move that caught the Arizona Republican off guard and left him speechless. In truth, McCain's target audience today was not people in the room or the national media but rather conservative Republicans in his home state -- the people he needs to beat back a challenge from his ideological right from former Rep. J.D. Hayworth.
Genuine Discussion: With a few exceptions, the bulk of the summit -- not surprisingly -- was focused on the rehashing of talking points rather than a serious engagement on the issues. Obama repeatedly attempted to keep speakers (of both parties) on topic but the conversation felt like politicians talking at -- rather than to -- one another. The idea of a serious policy debate was probably sacrificed the moment the summit was televised. But, it was jarring to watch what was purported to be a discussion devolve into a series of (semi)connected stump speeches.
Public Option: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Md.) were the only ones to mention the issue that dominated the health care debate for months on end last fall -- and that was in the context of it being sacrificed as a compromise to Republicans. And, as Fix colleague Alec MacGillis pointed out, Obama was very careful to emphasize that people shopping for coverage on the new health insurance exchanges he is proposing would be choosing only among 'private plans.'"
Cable Networks: With the exception of the Obama-McCain tête à têete, the day was largely devoid of the sort of made-for-TV moments that help drive ratings.