Gibbs on Dean: Nobody 'Rational' Would Kill the Bill

VP reminds president health care reform is a big deal

(NEWSER) - Get out the equipment you used to break down the Zapruder film, and set it to "lip-read"—did Joe Biden really remind President Obama that signing health care reform bill is "a big fucking deal"? Talking Points Memo asks—and White House press secretary Robert Gibbs seems to confirm that he did indeed. Gibbs tweets : "And yes Mr. Vice President, you're right..." You be the judge, above. More»

Modest coverage, cost reforms now on horizon

(NEWSER) - President Obama, chastened by the voter revolt that cost the Democrats their 60th vote in the Senate, is ready to seriously pare down health care reform in an effort to salvage at least some of it. "I would advise that we try to move quickly to coalesce around those elements in the package that people agree on," he told ABC News, outlining features that had broad support, not including the attempt to cover most uninsured Americans. More»

President Obama schedules speech with health reform still up in the air

(NEWSER) - President Obama has scheduled his first State of the Union address for Wednesday, Jan. 27. The White House had hoped health care reform would be passed before the speech, but the tight timeline makes that unlikely, CBS News reports. The date confirms White House spokesman Robert Gibbs' assurances that the address won't conflict with the eagerly awaited premiere of the final season of Lost, scheduled for Feb. 2. More»

(NEWSER) - Sorry, Jimmy Carter: The White House doesn't think hostility toward President Obama is motivated by race, the Washington Post reports. “The president does not believe that the criticism comes based on the color of his skin,” said Robert Gibbs. Carter started a firestorm by asserting just that—the fervent anti-Obama animosity, he said, "is based on the fact that he is a black man." Administration officials say that while race might be a factor for some, people are mostly upset at his sweeping reform proposals. More»

President warns Supreme Court of 'judicial activism'

(NEWSER) - President Obama stood up for health care reform today and took a swipe at "unelected" Supreme Court justices who might rule against Obamacare, the Washington Post reports. “Ultimately, I am confident the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress,” Obama said at the White House, during a joint press conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. More»