Obama's health care pitch to Democrats: Trust me

Obama told House liberals last week that he understands their frustration in seeing priorities — such as allowing the government to sell insurance in competition with private companies — dropped from the revised legislation. He promised to work with them in the future to improve health care laws, said Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., who leads the Congressional Black Caucus.

"He said, `This is the first step, a foundation that we can build upon,'" she said. "He made a commitment to work with us on all the issues that are outstanding, and there are many."

It's unclear whether Obama can keep such promises, especially with Republicans expecting to gain House and Senate seats this fall.

Obama is asking his party's House moderates to have a different kind of faith. The party's strategy calls for House Democrats, despite many misgivings, to go along with a health care bill the Senate passed in December. Obama would sign it into law, but senators would promise to make numerous changes demanded by House Democrats. Because Senate Democrats no longer have the numbers to stop GOP filibusters, the changes would have to be made under rules that require only simple majority votes.

Republicans are playing on House Democrats' suspicions of their Senate colleagues, saying Senate Democrats may not keep their end of the bargain. The taunts often hit their marks.

SOURCE: Associated Press > Yahoo News