As Hearings Begin, Daschle Wary of Clinton Miscues

Obama health chief to push early, at grassroots, with congressional input

By Gabriel Winant, Newser User

Posted Jan 8, 2009 10:39 AM CST

(Newser) – Tom Daschle, Barack Obama’s health-care honcho, saw the 1993 Clinton-care debacle up close; his strategy for passing reform this time around is basically Anything But Clinton, reports Politico. The Clinton push, Daschle thinks, came too far into the first term, and was too exclusive, presenting Congress a completed proposal without seeking input or pushing for it at the grassroots level.

Daschle is hoping to get a bill moving by March. Some in Congress don’t share his optimism. Says a Senate Republican aide, “We will be fortunate if we get something for a vote by the August recess.” The administration may have a secret weapon, though: likely surgeon general Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s current medical expert, as top salesman for the plan.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (2)]

In this photo from Dec. 11, 2008, President-elect Barack Obama, right, stands with Health and Human Services Secretary-designate, former Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle. (AP Photo)

Heath and Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Daschle takes notes during a meeting with seniors, Dec. 30, 2008, at the Congress Heights Wellness Center in Washington. (AP Photo)

Then-first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, holding a copy of the Clinton health-care plan, kicks off a three-state sales campaign in Baltimore in this Oct. 1993 file photo. (AP Photo)

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The health-care debate might have played out differently if President Clinton had launched it in the spring of 1993, when he still had some momentum from his election victory. - Tom Daschle in his book on health care, Critical

Tom Daschle knows well, and indeed he has said this to me directly, the prospects for health reform are aided by doing this in as timely a manner as possible. - Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA

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As Hearings Begin, Daschle Wary of Clinton Miscues