Obama gets support of key political rivals

Washington With congressional Republicans defying him on health care, President Barack Obama is trolling for prominent GOP officials and independents outside Washington who will publicly endorse his plans as the legislative fight moves towards a crucial phase.

On Tuesday, the White House rolled out its latest trophy — a letter from California Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger saying he shares many of the same health care goals as the president, from "slowing the growth in costs" to "enhancing the quality of care".

The day before, the White House had contacted Schwarzenegger's office and asked if he would make a public declaration, according to the governor's aides. Schwarzenegger agreed.

White House officials have also asked New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent, to state his views publicly and the mayor has complied.

And another Republican, former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson, who served as secretary of Health and Human Services in the George W. Bush administration, declared in a statement distributed by the White House on Monday that "failure to reach an agreement on health care reform this year is not an acceptable option."

Neither Schwarzenegger's nor Bloomberg's general views on health care were a secret. However, the timing of their latest statements served a potentially important political function for the White House — expressions of support from prominent Republicans offered cover to any wavering lawmakers worried about a backlash back home if they voted for the bill.

"The president is trying to build the broadest coalition possible for his approach to reforming the health care system," said Reid Cherlin, a White House spokesman.

"We often find a very different, less partisan approach outside the hot house of the beltway."

Eliciting expressions of GOP support was also part of an aggressive and carefully orchestrated White House campaign to ratchet up its push for congressional support as major decision points draw nearer.

The full House is preparing to begin debate on its version of a health care overhaul as early as this week.

The Senate Finance committee is likely to vote on its more moderate version of a plan sometime next week. Senate Democratic leaders will shape a final version for consideration by the full chamber after that, with floor votes and a House-Senate conference expected farther down the road.

On Monday, Obama hosted an event in the Rose Garden, in which doctors clad in white coats rallied behind his plan. A point pushed by Obama was that the doctors "represent all 50 states".

Schwarzenegger aides were aware of the political dynamics at work.

"This was a big ask coming from them [the White House]," said one Schwarzenegger administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity so as to speak more openly.

"There's no question that they're making a very concerted push right now to bring in nationally recognised, high-level Republicans and independents."

Schwarzenegger has reservations about pieces of the health care bill now being negotiated. He dislikes the so-called "public option" and he opposes "unfunded mandates" on states. But he believes "the system is broken and needs fixing".

Even as he touts Republican support, Obama needs to worry that even some influential Democrats are not convinced, GOP strategists said.

Last week, Democratic governors sent a letter to congressional leaders proclaiming that "the status quo is no longer an option" and urging passage of a health care bill this year. Six Democratic governors did not sign the letter.

Opposition falling

Opposition to President Barack Obama's health care overhaul has dropped dramatically in just a matter of weeks, according to the latest Associated Press-GfK poll. Still, Americans remain split over complex legislation that Democrats are advancing in Congress.

The public is split 40-40 on supporting or opposing the health care legislation, the poll found. An even split is welcome news for Democrats, a sharp improvement from September, when 49 per cent of Americans said they opposed the congressional proposals and just 34 per cent supported them.

In a significant change, opposition among older Americans dropped 16 percentage points. Seniors have been concerned that Congress would stick them with the bill by cutting the government-run Medicare health insurance program for the elderly to pay for covering the uninsured.