Tough talk from Obama on health, but no clear action

Saying he wants to “put everybody on notice,” President Barack Obama took an aggressive stance on passing health care reform, denouncing “cynics” and “small thinking” working to derail his efforts.

“There was a lot of chatter during the week that I was gone,” the president said in the Rose Garden. “For those naysayers and cynics who think that this is not going to happen, don’t bet against us.”

After a week overseas that saw health care reform placed on a legislative back burner, Obama dropped the consensus-building, sales-themed rhetoric of the past several months for a more authoritative message.

The shift in tone follows a recent poll showing an erosion of faith among Americans that he has the leadership skills to deal with a crisis.

But it appears unlikely the president’s tough new talk will be backed up by a more assertive role in shaping his signature issue. 

There is still no coherent health care plan for the president to sell, and administration officials said the president still believes Congress should craft the details — not the White House.

“Everybody assumed that I had the 1,000-page plan in my purse,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told CNN. “This very comprehensive bill needs to be a bipartisan approach [and] it needs to be owned by the House and the Senate.”

A pervasive mixed message persisted throughout the day at the White House, where officials described Obama as engaged and at work on health care, but loaded his schedule with largely unrelated business greeting a soccer team and meeting with various interest groups.

The administration also sought to have it both ways on health care, blaming critics for bumping the process off track, while also claiming significant headway is being made.

And while urging progress and cooperation, Obama also called out his critics by effectively deeming them wimps.

“I understand people are a little nervous and a little scared about making change,” the president said. “The muscles in this town to bring about big changes are a little atrophied.”

Late in the day, Obama huddled privately with Democratic leaders on how to move the process forward. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama may pressure the Senate to remain in session into August to get a bill done.

“He’s not interested in doing something that’s just called reform in the title but perpetuates a system that finds America spending twice as much as the average industrialized country on health care with outcomes that are not as good,” Gibbs said.

Democratic House leaders joined Obama in May to announce they would complete work on a bill before members leave for August recess. The White House recently conceded that schedule was unrealistic, saying the goal is to have work wrapped up by the end of the year.

Gibbs backed further from the August deadline Monday, saying, “I don’t think anybody was under the illusion that the whole process would be wrapped up by the beginning of August.”