IF IT HAD ANY MOMENTUM, HE KILLED IT:

Obama strives to personalize healthcare debate for Americans (Peter Nicholas, Christi Parsons and Noam N. Levey, July 23, 2009, LA Times)

During much of the hourlong news conference, Obama relied on jargon that Washington insiders embrace but that might leave the typical television viewer mystified. Discussing government spending, he mentioned "the supplemental" -- referring to a war-funding bill. He used the word "incentivize" several times.

The purpose of Obama's appearance was to regain momentum for proposals to make major changes to the healthcare system, one of his top domestic priorities.

Even fellow Democrats now say that the deadline Obama set for the House and Senate to pass a bill before their August recess is unrealistic.

And mounting opposition from powerful interest groups has been equally worrisome for the White House. On Wednesday, the American Hospital Assn. urged its members to lobby against an administration proposal for an independent agency that would set Medicare payment rates. Supporters say the agency would help control costs.

In the House, centrist Democrats have slowed progress in one key committee with complaints that the bill does not do enough to bring down healthcare costs. In the Senate, finance committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has been working with a small, bipartisan group of senators to develop a separate proposal.

That effort was dealt a minor setback Wednesday when Utah Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, one of the Republicans in the group, said he could no longer support it.

At big moment, President Obama goes small (BEN SMITH, 7/23/09, Politico)

The president’s remarks on his chosen subject, health care, were cautious and choreographed, hemmed in on one side by the calculations of his professional wordsmiths, on the other by the delicacy of negotiations with two houses of Congress.

He never detailed his own plan, or named a single victim of America’s broken system, and he spoke largely in the abstractions of blue pills, red pills, and legislative processes. It’s not easy to turn delivery system reform into a rallying cry for change, but at times, it was as if Obama wasn’t even trying. [...]

[I]nstead of shaking the rafters, he spent most of his hour just checking rhetorical boxes, with language so poll-tested and focus-grouped, it was bleached of life.

It's not as if the UR was ever going to be able to force a Democratic health care plan on America anyway, but it doesn't help that he's the least eloquent president this side of GHW Bush and Jimmy Carter. We've been spoiled in recent years by the compelling rhetoric of Reagan and W and the salesmanship of Bill Clinton. But Mr. Obama has none of their ability.

MORE:
Obama Moves to Reclaim the Debate on Health Care (SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and JEFF ZELENY, 76/23/09, NY Times)

While Mr. Obama declared, “it’s my job, I’m the president,” he did not use the appearance at the White House to make any fresh demands on Congress, which is struggling to meet his timetable for both chambers to pass legislation before members break for August recess. Mr. Obama did not repeat that demand Wednesday night.

Instead, he sounded cerebral as he delved into policy specifics for nearly an hour and tried to link them to the concerns of ordinary Americans.

As he sought to reassure the public that a new health care system would be an improvement, he also acknowledged that there would be changes that could be unsettling, a point that is often raised by critics of overhauling the health care system.

“Can I guarantee that there are going to be no changes in the health-care delivery system? No,” Mr. Obama said. “The whole point of this is to try to encourage changes that work for the American people and make them healthier.”

Health legislation is Mr. Obama’s highest legislative priority, and his success or failure could shape the rest of his presidency. But while he is under increasing pressure from leading Democrats to delve more deeply into the negotiations by taking positions on specific policy issues, he largely resisted doing so Wednesday night.

Obama brings his health care hustle to Cleveland (Kevin O'Brien, The Plain Dealer)

It's your lucky day, Cleveland.

Dr. Obama's Traveling Medicine Show is in town.

Step right up, folks. Press in close around the wagon and hear the good doctor pronounce with preternatural poise on the prodigiously potent properties of his potion, a panacea so powerful that he predicts -- nay, promises! -- that it will prevail even over the laws of economics.

But only if you believe.

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 23, 2009 7:36 AM