ScreamingEagle
Gold Member
- Jul 5, 2004
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Reporting from Washington - Forget whether Washington can agree on a healthcare plan at the upcoming summit meeting. In recent days, the real impasse has been over furniture.
...
With a national television audience watching and a major domestic initiative hanging in the balance, logistics are proving to be almost as delicate as negotiations on the issue itself.
"Shades of the Paris peace talks," said Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), invoking Vietnam.
...
Word came from the White House on Tuesday that tables would be in the shape of a hollow square -- a design that appeals to the GOP.
"The White House is the biggest home court advantage in the world, and President Obama does a very good job in this sort of setting," said Michael Steel, spokesman for House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio). "But my understanding is they don't plan to have a President-Obama-lecturing-schoolchildren format."
Many points are still being negotiated, but some details of the meeting are coming into focus. The White House said the meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will be divided into four parts: Cost control, deficit reduction, expansion of coverage and overhaul of the insurance system.
...
Expect a freewheeling discussion, with Obama playing moderator.
Even so, Republicans aren't happy about the location. Obama chose Blair House, the government guesthouse across the street from the White House.
The meeting is in a 1,600-square-foot room -- small for the occasion. About four dozen lawmakers and staff will attend, not including the press pool. Republicans say the room will be needlessly cramped.
Privately, GOP aides are calling the event "The Blair House Project" -- after the 1999 horror movie "The Blair Witch Project."
"We pointed out that the venue shouldn't drive the summit. The summit should drive the venue," said a Republican aide, speaking on condition of anonymity. "If the room limits the ability to have a discussion, then move. But they [White House officials] are pretty excited to have it in Blair House. No one can explain why."
Setup for healthcare summit seems to be taking priority - latimes.com
...
With a national television audience watching and a major domestic initiative hanging in the balance, logistics are proving to be almost as delicate as negotiations on the issue itself.
"Shades of the Paris peace talks," said Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), invoking Vietnam.
...
Word came from the White House on Tuesday that tables would be in the shape of a hollow square -- a design that appeals to the GOP.
"The White House is the biggest home court advantage in the world, and President Obama does a very good job in this sort of setting," said Michael Steel, spokesman for House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio). "But my understanding is they don't plan to have a President-Obama-lecturing-schoolchildren format."
Many points are still being negotiated, but some details of the meeting are coming into focus. The White House said the meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will be divided into four parts: Cost control, deficit reduction, expansion of coverage and overhaul of the insurance system.
...
Expect a freewheeling discussion, with Obama playing moderator.
Even so, Republicans aren't happy about the location. Obama chose Blair House, the government guesthouse across the street from the White House.
The meeting is in a 1,600-square-foot room -- small for the occasion. About four dozen lawmakers and staff will attend, not including the press pool. Republicans say the room will be needlessly cramped.
Privately, GOP aides are calling the event "The Blair House Project" -- after the 1999 horror movie "The Blair Witch Project."
"We pointed out that the venue shouldn't drive the summit. The summit should drive the venue," said a Republican aide, speaking on condition of anonymity. "If the room limits the ability to have a discussion, then move. But they [White House officials] are pretty excited to have it in Blair House. No one can explain why."
Setup for healthcare summit seems to be taking priority - latimes.com
