Obama calls for bipartisanship

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama Saturday said both parties must pull together on healthcare reform for the sake of the millions of Americans who lack insurance.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama also congratulated U.S. medal winners at the Winter Olympics and urged Republicans and Democrats to adopt their spirit and team up on healthcare legislation.

"If we want to compete on the world stage as well as we've competed in the world's games, we need to find common ground," he said.

Obama said he was eager to advance healthcare legislation because tens of millions of Americans and small businesses "cannot wait another generation for us to act."

Thursday's televised healthcare summit in Washington showed that stark differences remain between the two parties. At the summit, Obama suggested he would favor budget reconciliation rules in the Senate to move a bill with a simple majority vote.