Deciding Health Care Reform; Obama as the Joker
WHITFIELD: The debate over health care reform, there's been a whole lot of talk and there's been very little action. Well, now President Obama says it's time for lawmakers to stop bickering and start voting.</s>OBAMA: For us to start over now could simply lead to delay that could last for another decade, or even more. The American people and the U.S. economy just can't wait that long. So, no matter which approach you favor, I believe the United States Congress owes the American people a final vote on health care reform.</s>MCCONNELL: I assure you that if this bill is somehow passed, it won't be behind our Democratic friends, it will be ahead of them. Because every election in America this fall will be a referendum on this issue. And there's an overwhelming likelihood that every Republican candidate will be campaigning to repeal it.</s>WHITFIELD: President Obama says he wants an up or down vote by the end of the month. That means a simple majority in the Senate could create the biggest changes in health care in your lifetime. CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us now with a closer look. So where does the president go from here, Suzanne?</s>SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, there certainly is a strategy from the White House. The next couple of weeks are going to be critical for the president and for members of Congress. The president early next week is going to be taking his message directly to the American people, Fred. He's going to be visiting in Philadelphia and St. Louis to make the case that health care, insurance reform, all these things are very necessary for the American people. That's the first part. The second part is what we're going to see here today. Obviously the secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, meeting with the CEOs of those big insurance companies. They are going to have to curb their behavior. This is all a part of the legislation. They are going to need their cooperation and they have really stressed this administration increasing the regulations, toughening regulations against those insurance companies. And third, of course, Fred, is what I'm being told is that the president as well as his aides here in the White House are really going to be pushing hard members of Congress. We're not talking about the Republicans any more, they feel like they have reached out enough. We're talking about the Democrats here. Try to come up with a way to support this legislation on the House side as well as the Senate side, making the case here that if these guys can't get this done, that essentially they're going to be faced with midterm elections and a voting constituency, the Democratic base, asking them "what have you gotten done and can you govern. You are in the majority, why can't you get this done." That is the case that the White House is making in pushing those Democrats to move forward on this, Fred.</s>WHITFIELD: And what's the timetable that the White House is pushing for?</s>MALVEAUX: Well, the president is leaving for Indonesia. This is in two weeks, this is March 18th. What he'd like to see is the first step of the process, and that is for the House Democrats to go ahead and pass, to vote the Senate version of the bill. After that happens, that's when the Senate will take it up in that process of reconciliation, that majority vote, simple majority vote to move this thing forward. So like the first part of that process done by the time he leaves the country. What he would like ideally is for this legislation to be passed before Easter, so the beginning of next month, but both the House and the Senate, they go on vacation. They have a recess, an Easter recess on March 28th. So it's critical if you look at the timetable, that this happens in the next couple of weeks, two or three weeks. That is what the president is going to push for because, Fred, they realize they're going to lose the momentum if they don't push and move on this soon.</s>WHITFIELD: All right. Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thanks so much. All right. Well, if you watched any of those town hall protests last summer, you probably saw it. Pictures of President Obama as the joker. Well, get ready to see a lot more of this. And the president isn't the only target. Look at the middle one. Apparently Democrats want your Dalmatians.