Obama's drama or a comedy of errors?

Obama will be playing two conflicting roles in today's drama:

Republican strategist and former Bush White House spokesman Tony Fratto said the Democrats don't have a great spokesman other than Obama, which puts the president in a "weird position" going into the health care summit, serving as both advocate and arbitrator.

"He's got his own bill, he's the leader of the party, he supports the Democrat proposals that came out of Congress -- but yet the way they've structured the meeting, he is theoretically an arbitrator," Fratto said. "The president isn't sitting down as an impartial actor here. He's got a very clear position that he's been advocating for some time."

His position as arbiter is a false one.

Politico sees potential for comedy, tragedy, or history:

It could be one of the biggest PR flops since Geraldo Rivera opened Al Capone’s vault.

Or it could be a genuinely clarifying moment in the Obama presidency, six hours that could decide the outcome of the push for health care reform and, even failing that, be decisive in framing the politics of the 2010 midterms.

Thursday’s made-for-TV health reform summit is shaping up to be more like a presidential debate (without the podiums) than a backroom negotiation in which horses are traded and deals get done.

But that doesn’t mean it won’t be illuminating, with Democrats and Republicans debating their differences in living color, not just on health care but on the role of government in American life. Here is what to watch for Thursday:

1) Will either side give any ground?

I can answer that one. Nope. Another question: Does anyone outside the Beltway care? Not when there's curling to watch:

“Most people in the country are tired of the bickering, and both parties need to recognize that,” said Rep. Jim Matheson, a Utah Democrat who voted against the first House bill.

Asked if he expects anyone back home to watch, Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz said, “Not really. The Olympics are still on. Even curling looks more enticing than this.”

Complete story here.

Even before the curtain is raised, the White House is already floating a fall-back plan:

President Barack Obama will use a bipartisan summit Thursday to push for sweeping health-care legislation, but if that fails to generate enough support the White House has prepared the outlines of a more modest plan.

His leading alternate approach would provide health insurance to perhaps 15 million Americans, about half what the comprehensive bill would cover, according to two people familiar with the planning.

It would do that by requiring insurance companies to allow people up to 26 years old to stay on their parents' health plans, and by modestly expanding two federal-state health programs, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, one person said. The cost to the federal government would be about one-fourth the price tag for the broader effort, which the White House has said would cost about $950 billion over 10 years.

Officials cautioned that no final decisions had been made but said the smaller plan's outlines are in place in case the larger plan fails.

Maybe this was the real goal all along. It will look positively benign when compared with the behemoths that came before.

*Update: The Democrats' plan is to shame and embarrass the GOP:

And a central element of the Democratic strategy – hashed out on a conference call with President Barack Obama himself Wednesday — will involve pointing that out at every turn, to essentially shame the GOP to get on board. . . .

While Republicans huddled among themselves, Obama dialed into a meeting of top Democrats in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office to map out a strategy. Democrats view the summit as a confidence-building exercise – it will be a success if Obama shows up the Republicans and, in turn, gives Democrats the political will to take the next step of reconciliation, a senior congressional aide said.

Carrie Budoff Brown's complete piece here.

Linked at Michelle Malkin (buzzworthy)

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