President Obama Targets Health Care
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody. President Obama takes on health care and the critics who have been taking him on. Bullet point number one: The president brought all sides in the health care debate to the White House today, and he showed little patience for those who think now is not the time.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's been some talk about the notion that maybe we're taking on too much, all right, that we're in the midst of an economic crisis and that the system is overloaded, and so we should put this off for another day. Well, let's just be clear. When times were good, we didn't get it done. When we had mild recessions, we didn't get it done. When we were in peacetime, we did not get it done. We were at war, we did not get it done. There is always a reason not to do it. And it strikes me that now is exactly the time for us to deal with this problem.</s>BROWN: Strong words from the president, but can he pull off what presidents before him have not been able to? We're going to have a NO BIAS, NO BULL take tonight. Bullet number two: President Obama loses another potential member of his team. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has withdrawn from consideration to become surgeon general. Dr. Gupta was going to be a key player in reforming health care. This has set that effort back before it even starts. We will talk about that. Bullet point number three tonight: Where are the jobs? Thousands of people lined up at a job fair in New York today desperate for a chance. Well, tonight, we will use the magic wall to show you where there are jobs in America right now. And we have got a panel of experts to help with your questions about this tough economy. Call us toll-free at 1-877-NO-BULL-0, again, 1-877-662-8550. We're going to taking your calls a little bit later in the program. But, first, we're going to start with President Obama's prescription for saving American's health care. A big part of the anecdote is reaching across the aisle to hear from those who could make or break his goal of reform by the end of the year. Now, once again, as he did during last month's fiscal responsibility financial summit, the president rolled the dice by inviting Republicans to join in a nationally televised forum, even though he would have no way of knowing if he would be put on the spot. Well, the president used some humor, combined with a promise that his solutions aren't the only ones up for discussion here. Listen as he tries to respond to one Republican member of Congress and teaches one of his fellow Democrats the value of working with rivals.</s>B. OBAMA: Senator Whitehouse said this isn't a Harry and Louise moment, it's a Thelma and Louise moment.</s>B. OBAMA: We're in the car headed towards a cliff and we must act. Now, I just want to be clear, if you actually saw the movie, they did drive over the cliff.</s>B. OBAMA: So just want to be clear, that's not our intention here.</s>SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY (R), IOWA: The only thing that I would throw out for your consideration -- and please don't respond to this now because I'm asking you just to think about it -- there's a lot of us that feel that the public option, that the government is an unfair competitor, and that we're going to get an awful lot of crowd out. And we have to keep what we have now strong and make it stronger.</s>B. OBAMA: I recognize that there's that concern. I think it's a serious one and a real one, and we'll make sure that it gets addressed, partly because I assume it'll be very -- be very hard to come out of committee unless we're thinking about it a little bit. And so we want to make sure that that's something that we pay attention to. So, I hope everybody understands that for those of you who are passionate about universal coverage and making sure that the moral dimension of health care is dealt with, don't think that we can get that done without -- excuse me. This is a health care forum, so I thought I would...</s>B. OBAMA: ... model what happens when you don't get enough sleep. Is your counterpart on your committee here?</s>REP. CHARLES RANGEL (D-NY), HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Yes, he is.</s>B. OBAMA: Come on, Dave.</s>RANGEL: Me and Dave and I work so closely together. If we can keep the disagreements down, we'll be a hell of a team.</s>B. OBAMA: What I meant, Charlie, was let's give him the mike.</s>REP. DAVE CAMP (R), MICHIGAN: It's tough on the minority, let me tell you.</s>CAMP: You do lose the microphone when you're not in the majority.</s>BROWN: All right. We want to bring in our panel right now, national political correspondent Jessica Yellin joining me from Washington, along Republican strategist Kevin Madden, CNN political analyst Roland Martin also joining us tonight from Chicago. Hi, guys.</s>ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: How you doing?</s>BROWN: Jessica, let me start with you here. Dispute all of the goodwill and fun in that room today, the president is gearing up for a real fight right now, isn't he?</s>JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He really is, Campbell. And the main question is, how big of a role should the government play in all of this? Well, outside interest groups, they disagree. And they are gearing up to spend $55 million on ad campaigns to influence the outcome. So, the two sides here, conservatives say, look, they don't want government involved in health care. They say it should all be left up to the free market. So, their vision is, consumers would get health care only through private insurers. On the other hand, liberals say, wait, the most important thing is making sure that every single American is covered. So, they want a government-run health insurance option. And the president's goals, well, he wants to make sure everyone can get coverage, but he's leaving it to Congress to work out the details. And so there you have a fight brewing.</s>BROWN: Kevin, let me bring you into this. Another day of the president welcoming Republicans into the White House, taking their questions, hearing their complaints. You have got to give them credit for that much. It does make it a little bit hard for the party just to put up a brick wall on this, doesn't it?</s>KEVIN MADDEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I do. I think, again, the president and -- President Obama and the White House are very good at staging bipartisan-themed events for the president to flourish in. But I think you're right. And this is a particularly difficult issue to just put up an opposition message instead. You have to be constructive, because I think there is a very -- there's a growing awareness among the American public that something has to get done on health care. And I think Republicans don't necessarily say that they want the government out of it, but they want to see a smart government solution, so that we can leverage the free market, so that we can make health care more affordable and more accessible. So, I think there's going to be a big fight over the cost. There's going to be a big fight over the size of government. But I do think that there is a consensus that we do need to move on something. Republicans are very aware that voters want to see solutions on health care.</s>BROWN: Do you agree, Roland?</s>MARTIN: Absolutely. And I think, Campbell, we make a mistake if we only look at what took place today as stagecraft to impress Republicans. Keep in mind, you're likely going to have Democrats who also are not in full support for what the president is trying to achieve. And, so, he may lose some Democrats. He may pick up some Republicans. It all depends upon how this whole thing flows out in terms of in committee in the House, as well as the Senate. And, so, it's a smart move for him to make this effort right now because his approval ratings are extremely strong, and so you make this kind of move when you're at your strongest, at opposed to at your weakest.</s>BROWN: Let me ask you, Roland, though. Tom Daschle was supposed to lead this health care forum effort. Now he's out. Today, Sanjay Gupta, who was supposed to help sell the plan, withdrew his name from consideration as surgeon general. How much do these departures hamper the president's effort?</s>MARTIN: I think the Daschle departure, frankly, is a lot more important than Dr. Sanjay Gupta, no offense to him, because, again, Daschle was the one who fully understood how Congress operated. He knew where the bodies were buried. And so he goes out and he chooses Kathleen Sebelius, governor of Kansas, to be his secretary of HHS. And so she's an outsider. And so he's really going to have to depend on the legislative side, as opposed to leaning on Daschle, who was in a much different position than frankly an outsider. And so I think that is probably the biggest loss, as opposed to someone who is selling it. You can sell it all day, but you have got to get it through Congress.</s>BROWN: Jessica, health care reform went down in flames under Bill Clinton, a lot of lessons to be learned from that experience. What is the Obama administration -- what are you hearing in terms of what they are taking from that, in terms of how they approach it?</s>YELLIN: Well, the first thing everyone in the White House emphasizes to me is that, unlike the Clintons, they are not delivering a finished product. They are talking to Congress. They will work on a plan with Congress, so there is buy-in on both sides. And, already, Campbell, the folks I talk to in the White House are in conversations with folks up there and have been for weeks, so they have a sense where the directions -- where the divisions are. And they also say, look, a big difference is, back in the Clinton era, many of us average Americans liked our health insurance. And you had to still educate folks that there's a problem. Huge change today, because businesses and individuals, everybody knows something needs to be done. So, they say they are way ahead of the game just for that reason.</s>BROWN: Kevin, let me ask you, though, a lot of people saying he's got enough on his plate right now; he should be focused solely on the economic crisis; leave health care reform for another day. Do you agree with that?</s>MADDEN: Well, you know what is interesting on that issue is that the economic anxiety that drives many Americans' opinions right now, people see health care as an economic anxiety. It's a big bottom-line gut-check issue for people who sit down at their kitchen table every single night. The rising costs and the lack of affordability -- I'm sorry -- the lack of accessibility, it drives Americans' anxiety on the economy. So, they think -- I think that there is a large reservoir of goodwill there for President Obama and members of Congress who want to solve this issue, because when people -- when they are addressing it, people feel like they are addressing a big strain on the economy.</s>BROWN: All right, guys, we have got to end it there.</s>MARTIN: Campbell, also...</s>BROWN: Yes, go ahead, quickly, Roland, and make your point.</s>MARTIN: No, no. Yes, real quick, in 2010, next year, the year 2012, the Obama folks realize they are not guaranteed another four years.</s>BROWN: Right.</s>MARTIN: And, so, if this is a major issue, you have got to get it out there. And so whatever happens happens. But you can't say, I will hold it in my pocket until the right time.</s>BROWN: All right. On that note, Roland, Kevin, and Jessica, many thanks. Appreciate it. And I also just want to mention, Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be a guest on "LARRY KING LIVE" at the top of the hour talking about his decision to take his name out of contention. A footnote to this discussion that there was a moment we just wanted to share with you also, Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, who, as many of you know, is fighting a brain tumor, got a standing ovation when he joined the president at the end of today's health care forum. It's one of his first public appearances since suffering a seizure on Inauguration Day. Listen to this.</s>SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I think most of us who have been in this room before have seen other times when the House and the Senate have made efforts, but they haven't been the kind of serious effort that I think that we're seeing right now.</s>BROWN: Kennedy promised to be what he called a foot soldier in the health care battle to come. Tonight, we are taking a NO BIAS, NO BULL look at how hard Americans are working to get a job.</s>DAWN WILSON, UNEMPLOYED: Hopefully, someone will call me and offer me a job or an interview or whatever the case may be, because I'm not one to sit at home and do nothing. So, I'm ready to go back to work.</s>BROWN: She is ready. And we have got the information she needs, the states where there are more jobs available. Tonight, we also have a panel of experts ready to take your calls about jobs and the economy. Dial in now, 1-877-NO-BULL-0, 1-877-662- 8550.