http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20090822/pl_bloomberg/a9fjicd6ygqkObama May Abandon Effort to Reach Health Deal With Republicans
Edwin Chen – Sat Aug 22, 12:01 am ET
Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama is likely in September to end Democratic efforts to work with Republicans on health-care legislation and press for a party-line vote if the stalemate on the issue in the U.S. Senate persists, a person close to the White House said.
The president and his advisers have started devising a strategy to pass a measure by relying only on the Democratic majority in each house of Congress, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In a separate interview, former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle said Obama is losing patience with negotiations between three Democrats and three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee, the only congressional panel seeking a bipartisan consensus on a plan to remake the nation’s health- care system.
“He’s waited and waited,” Daschle said yesterday after meeting with the president. “He has indicated, much to the chagrin of people in his party, that virtually everything’s on the table. And he’s gotten almost nothing in return for it.”