President Courts Left and Right
NGUYEN: Health care reform, back on the president's agenda today. And this morning, he meets with former Senator Majority leader Tom Daschle. Now the president has called him one of America's foremost health care experts. CNN's Kate Bolduan joins us now live from the White House. And, Kate, you know, the administration is really appealing to both the left and the right, but is it working?</s>KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is a good question, Betty. You can see from the White House's perspective, the president and the White House, they are really trying, working to regain momentum in this health care debate. At the same time, the president is preparing to leave for vacation a little later this afternoon after he does have that meeting with former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle on, of course, you can guess it talking about health care. But yesterday, take a look at yesterday, Betty, it's a perfect example of the fine line that the president, that this administration is trying to walk, trying to appeal to both sides to really keep a coherent message out there. Appealing to liberal supporters at a Democratic National Convention event yesterday afternoon, and before that, really taking his message to conservatives. Speaking to -- making an appearance on a conservative talk radio show, live at the White House. The host, Michael Smerconish, he did throw his support behind the president during the campaign season. And speaking of the campaign, if you really look at most, if not all of the president's appearances of late, it really appears as if he himself is back on the campaign trail. He says the president says that he's trying to get out there. He's working, trying to combat what he calls misinformation and noise that is out there confusing the debate surrounding health care reform. Some of those issues are claims of health care and how it relates to illegal immigrants, as well as the much talked about death claim of death panels that we've heard so much about. But what about this big question of a bipartisan solution that they are trying to work towards? Well, take a listen here to the president himself where he seems to signal that the president, the White House, and Democrats may have to go it alone.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I would love to have more Republicans engaged and involved in this process. I think early on, a decision was made by the Republican leadership that said, look, let's not give them a victory. Maybe we can have a replay of 1993 and 1994 when Clinton came in. He failed on health care, and then we won in the midterm elections and we got the majority.</s>BOLDUAN: Republican leaders are pushing back on that. A spokesman for Congressman Eric Cantor, the number two Republican in the House, saying we would love to know when exactly time, date, place, the president or his staff reached out to Republican leaders. So continues to be a long road ahead, it seems, Betty.</s>NGUYEN: Yes, it does. OK. But what about the so-called Gang of Six? Are those negotiations still continuing?</s>BOLDUAN: It seems they are. Last night there was a conference call, among this Gang of Six, these are a bipartisan group on the Senate Finance Committee, and during this conference call while they're away on this August break, they say the negotiations are continuing. They're resuming the talks afterward. The Committee Chairman Senator Max Baucus, he released a statement saying that it was a productive conversation. Also saying that this group is committed to continuing our path towards bipartisan, a bipartisan health care reform bill. So they're continuing to work, as well.</s>NGUYEN: All right. Kate Bolduan joining us live from the White House. Thank you, Kate. So far no health care measure has been debated in the full House or Senate. They're still taking shaping in committees. I want to give you a quick comparison of the legislation that is being considered. Under a proposed House bill, consumers could choose among an array of health insurance plans, including the public option or government-run programs. Now the plan would mandate legal residents to obtain health insurance. It requires companies to provide health coverage for workers or pay into a federal fund to provide health coverage. Now, some companies with small payrolls could be exempt. Let's take you to the Senate. A bipartisan group and the Finance Committee is considering a bill that is expected to include this. No government-run option. But may include proposals for private, non- profit co-ops, where individuals without coverage could join. The bill is not expected to include mandates, but a penalty for businesses that do not offer coverage. So that is a quick break down for you. And this story, health officials, they are predicting an explosion, yes an explosion of swine flu cases in the coming months. The World Health Organization says most countries could see the number of infections double every three to four days for several months until the outbreak reaches its peak. Officials are urging governments to waste no time educating the public on how to limit the spread of the H1N1 virus and preparing health care systems to handle severe cases. Well, his decision has outraged many. The man who freed the Lockerbie bomber talks about why he chose to let the convicted man go.