Obama's low profile on healthcare planned

Published: Oct. 21, 2009 at 8:27 AM
President Obama honors Vietnam War veterans at White House

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama has lowered his public profile on reforming the U.S. healthcare system after a summer of heated debate, aides said.

Administration officials told The New York Times that the "quiet period" is so Obama can catch a breather while Democrats resolve intraparty conflicts on the health reform legislation, then come back renewed when the bill advances toward floor votes.

"I think his time is better spent on this particular issue in conversation with members and in talking to his own advisers and instructing them on how to proceed," David Axelrod, senior adviser to Obama, told the Times in an article published Wednesday. "That's the phase that we're in."

David Gergen, a communications strategist for both Republican and Democratic presidents, predicted Obama would return to "full campaign mode" as Congress moves healthcare along, but declined to discuss how Obama would reassert himself in the debate.

One of the biggest arenas among Obama's bully pulpits is an address from the Oval Office, the Times said.

Axelrod would not say whether an Oval Office address was being considered, but indicated Obama wouldn't keep a low profile for long.

"Having come all this way," he said, "you can be assured that we are going to do whatever we can to focus attention on the magnitude of the opportunity here."

© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints


Additional News Stories
COL BKB: Kentucky 92, Rider 63 (12 min)
COL FB: Florida 62, Fla. International 3 (48 min)
COL FB: Iowa 12, Minnesota 0
COL FB: Ohio State 21, Michigan 10
Second false alarm delays spacewalk
Sisters seeking damages for dropped coffin
Meat on the menu for Connecticut thieves
fark
Pittsburgh plans to tax college students, wants them to pay fair share
Genetics anti-bias law takes effect today, forcing insurance companies, employers to use outward...
It's a boy: Zoo tortoise reveals mistaken identity after 50 years, so the zoo renamed the tortoise...
Like some Farkers' dream girls, this suspect had nice melons and 800 pounds of pot. Unfortunately,...
When schools remove chocolate milk from the cafeteria they are simultanously bombarded with student...
Funny, subby's cold-as-a-fish ex-wife is also named Wendy. I hope this doesn't get greenlit