This is getting a little ridiculous- that is, unless it works. Then it’s brilliant. Obama just said he would consider adding some of the Republican ideas to the health care legislation.

Umm. I thought you won that tv debate- what gives?

He sent a letter to Republican and Democratic congressional leaders saying that he is considering adding 4 ideas offered by Republicans from last week. This could be a brilliant strategic move by Obama as this is all being done out in front of the media and the general U.S. public. If he adds ideas and the Republicans still vote it down, rank and file, what does that say about them? What would that enable Democrats to argue with the coming elections? That even if they have a slim majority all they are going to do is push their ideas and not listen to anyone else?

Reuters says that Obama “cited Republican ideas to probe healthcare providers who get federal money, to expand health savings accounts, to offer more grants to study alternatives to medical malpractice suits and to boost doctor reimbursements for Medicaid, the federal health program for the poor.”

Ok, so those are not really any of the hardcore Republican ideas, and he isn’t into an “incremental” approach or starting over. But it does show that his meeting with Republican (and Democrat) leaders was about talking and considering rather than just for show.

"I said throughout this process that I'd continue to draw on the best ideas from both parties, and I'm open to these proposals in that spirit," said Obama in the letter.

Democrats are preparing to use the reclamation approach in the senate, so anything Obama is doing would have to get done before that to mean anything.

"If the president simply adds a couple of Republican solutions to a trillion dollar healthcare package that the American people don't support, it isn't bipartisanship -- it's political cover," said Eric Cantor (# 2 Republican in the House of Representatives)

The White House remained vague and non-committal about whether the President is into using reclamation- "He'll urge Congress to move swiftly toward votes on this legislation," they said. Ok. Thanks for the clarification. At least he isn’t urging them to take their time and think about it some more, send it back to committee maybe.

The reconciliation process is still a long, arduous road- getting the bills in both houses of Congress to match and making sure they pass, even with the simple need for a majority. But it could happen.

And the Republican cries of foul about using reconciliation are crap. They’ve used it 14 times in the last 30 years. Get over it. If you want to threaten the filibuster, the Democrats threaten the reconciliation.

"Democrats are saying they want a simple up-or-down vote on healthcare. What they really want is to jam their vision of healthcare through Congress over the objections of a public that they seem to think is too ill-informed to notice," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

That’s right. Eat it, Mitch.

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