President Barack Obama will address Congress one week from today in an effort to gain control of the debate over health care reform after a brutal August recess for Democrats. While this news is expected, the final paragraph in the New York Times’ report says the timing of Obama’s address indicates he no longer believes he can wait for Max Baucus to hammer out something ostensibly bipartisan in the committee he chairs. The two Republicans “not bargaining in good faith” are presumably Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Mike Enzi of Wyoming.
From the NYT:
The president’s higher profile reflects a conclusion in the White House that it can no longer wait until mid-September for the fifth committee, the Senate Finance Committee, to try to reach a bipartisan alternative. Administration officials have concluded that two of the three Republican negotiators are not bargaining in good faith after they publicly attacked the Democrats’ initiative in recent days.