Obama Gives Health Plan a Town-Hall Pitch

While Congress was away, President Obama made another play to boost public support of his health care reform plan. It came Wednesday in a town-hall-esque forum in Virginia.  Those hoping for the federal government to back a viable single-payer system, however, will have to keep on hoping.

The New York Times:

With members of Congress away for the week, the president had the stage to himself as he promoted his plan to lower the cost of health care and make coverage more accessible. He cast his proposal as a cost-saver, rather than a giant expenditure, saying the economy was not likely to rally without reversing “the crushing cost of health care.”

For weeks, the administration and Congressional leaders have struggled to reach a compromise on comprehensive health care legislation. So the White House sought to rally public support by staging a friendly forum here, just outside Washington, which was billed as an hourlong question-and-answer session from a live audience, as well as from people following along online.

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AP photo / Alex Brandon

Hug your president: Barack Obama embraces Debby Smith during his forum on health care in Annandale, Va., on Wednesday. Smith, 53, who said she was a cancer patient, was fighting back tears after she rose to ask a question of the president.