Healthcare Summit: The Takeaway

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Here’s the lead story in the print edition of the LA Times this morning:

Democrats’ next option: Go it alone

Facing unbending Republican opposition to a healthcare overhaul, President Obama confronted a stark reality Thursday as his televised summit ended: If he and his Democratic allies in Congress want to reshape the nation’s healthcare system, they will have to do it by themselves.

I’m not sure how the summit is playing on TV, but this is, I think, about the best possible spin for Obama. If, over the next few days, the takeaway from the summit is that Republicans are just dead set against doing anything — whether due to principle or just political bloodymindedness, it doesn’t matter — that helps his cause with both the public and his own caucus.

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