Obama seeks grassroots work on healthcare

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. President appealed to grassroots activists to make calls about healthcare reform, using a medium he exploited during his presidential run: the Internet.

On the Internet social network Facebook, Obama posted the message: "Today is the day. Crucial negotiations on health reform are taking place in Congress -- and we've set a big goal: 100,000 calls to Congress made or committed in a single day. Can you take 3 minutes and call right now?"

A couple of hours later, Obama offered encouragement: "We're halfway there -- you've already made 50,000 calls to Congress today. Help us reach 100,000."

After months of complaints the White House was too standoffish, the Facebook appeal and other initiatives -- such as attending meetings of liberal interest groups and participating in congressional discussions on healthcare -- demonstrate that Obama and other members of his administration have become more visibly involved, the newspaper said.

"At first they were too hands-off," Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., told USA Today. "Now I think they're getting it about right."

Republicans in Congress maintained, however, that Obama hasn't specified what he wants, still leaves too much control to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and that the process of melding multiple bills in the House and Senate into one per chamber has moved behind closed doors.

"This bill is being written in the dark of night," House GOP leader John Boehner said last week. "The president ought to keep his promise to the American people and open this process up."