Obama concedes problems with health overhaul
Obama acknowledged  however  that the effort had run into a "bit of a buzz saw" of opposition. And a leading member of his party suggested Congress slow it down on health care  a sign of eroding political will in the wake of Tuesday's Republican election upset in Massachusetts.
 Obama put fixing a broken health care system at the of his 2008 campaign for the presidency  and once elected made it the top priority of his first term. He has faced solid opposition from the Republican minority  which has rolled over into his fellow Democrats in Congress and to growing numbers of voters.
 Despite assurances from Obama and his administration  opposition to his plans have grown among people who bought into allegations of higher taxes  unbearable government deficits and serious government meddling in health care.
 Obama has spoken about the patchwork nature of the U.S. health care system but said it is politically impossible to throw out the system and start from scratch. Thus the two bills passed by the Senate and House  which under normal congressional rules must be negotiated into a joint bill and re-passed by both chambers.
 Just a week ago the health legislation had appeared on the cusp of passage after Obama threw himself into marathon negotiations with congressional leaders to work out differences between the House and Senate bills.
 "There are things that have to get done. This is our best chance to do it. We can't keep on putting this off " Obama said Friday at a town hall meeting in Elyria  Ohio  warning listeners that spiraling medical costs threaten to bankrupt them and the country unless Congress acts.
 "I am not going to walk away just because it's hard " the president said.
 In his remarks  Obama seemed to pull back from a suggestion he made on Wednesday that lawmakers unite behind the elements of the legislation everyone can agree on. Obama said that approach presented problems because some of the popular ideas  like new requirements on insurance companies  could not be done without getting many more people insured. That  he said  requires giving everybody access to coverage.
 Obama has used immense political capital to advance the health care overhaul and remake a system that has frustrated past administrations  most recently Democrat Bill Clinton in 1994. Whether he can succeed where others have failed is now anything but clear  and Obama seemed to acknowledge as much.
 "Here's the good news. We've gotten pretty far down the road  but I have to admit  we had a little bit of a buzz saw this week " the president said.
 "I understand that  why after the Massachusetts election people in Washington were all in a tizzy  trying to figure out what this means for health reform  Republicans and Democrats: What does it mean for Obama? Is he weakened? Is he  oh  how's he going to survive this?" Obama said. "But I want you to understand  this is not about me. This is about you."
Obama? Is he weakened? Is he  oh  how's he going to survive this?" Obama said. "But I want you to understand  this is not about me. This is about you."
[TGT] acknowledged  however  that the effort had run into a "bit of a buzz saw" of opposition. And a leading member of his party suggested Congress slow it down on health care  a sign of eroding political will in the wake of Tuesday's Republican election upset in Massachusetts.
 [TGT] put fixing a broken health care system at the of [TGT] 2008 campaign for the presidency  and once elected made it the top priority of [TGT] first term. [TGT] has faced solid opposition from the Republican minority  which has rolled over into [TGT] fellow Democrats in Congress and to growing numbers of voters.
 Despite assurances from [TGT] and [TGT] administration  opposition to [TGT] plans have grown among people who bought into allegations of higher taxes  unbearable government deficits and serious government meddling in health care.
 [TGT] has spoken about the patchwork nature of the U.S. health care system but said it is politically impossible to throw out the system and start from scratch. Thus the two bills passed by the Senate and House  which under normal congressional rules must be negotiated into a joint bill and re-passed by both chambers.
 Just a week ago the health legislation had appeared on the cusp of passage after [TGT] threw [TGT] into marathon negotiations with congressional leaders to work out differences between the House and Senate bills.
 "There are things that have to get done. This is our best chance to do it. We can't keep on putting this off [TGT] said Friday at a town hall meeting in Elyria  Ohio  warning listeners that spiraling medical costs threaten to bankrupt them and the country unless Congress acts.
 "I am not going to walk away just because it's hard " [TGT] said.
 In [TGT] remarks  [TGT] seemed to pull back from a suggestion [TGT] made on Wednesday that lawmakers unite behind the elements of the legislation everyone can agree on. [TGT] said that approach presented problems because some of the popular ideas  like new requirements on insurance companies  could not be done without getting many more people insured. That  [TGT] said  requires giving everybody access to coverage.
 [TGT] has used immense political capital to advance the health care overhaul and remake a system that has frustrated past administrations  most recently Democrat Bill Clinton in 1994. Whether he can succeed where others have failed is now anything but clear  and [TGT] seemed to acknowledge as much.
 "Here's the good news. We've gotten pretty far down the road  but I have to admit  we had a little bit of a buzz saw this week " the president said.
 "I understand that  why after the Massachusetts election people in Washington were all in a tizzy  trying to figure out what this means for health reform  Republicans and Democrats: What does it mean for [TGT]? Is [TGT] weakened? Is [TGT]  oh  how's [TGT] going to survive this?" [TGT] said. "But I want you to understand  this is not about [TGT]. This is about you."
[TGT]? Is [TGT] weakened? Is [TGT]  oh  how's [TGT] going to survive this?" [TGT] said. "But I want you to understand  this is not about [TGT]. This is about you."