Obama's low profile on healthcare planned

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."