Obama to McCain: "The Election's Over"

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Health Care

President Obama sparred with his 2008 presidential opponent Sen. John McCain at the health care summit, telling the Arizona Republican "we're not campaigning anymore. The election's over." (watch the video at left)

The president was responding to McCain's comments in which he complained that the health care bill was not produced in the open, but "behind closed doors."

McCain complained of "unsavory" dealmaking to get the bill passed in the Senate, including promises to give special deals to residents of Louisiana, Nebraska and Florida. (Some of those provisions were removed in Mr. Obama's plan released Monday.)

He pointed to a number of issues, including the PhRMA deal and a provision mandating $100 million for a Connecticut hospital, asking "why should that happen?"

At one point, Mr. Obama tried to interject. "Can I just finish, please," McCain said, cutting off the president.

"People are angry," McCain said. "We promised them change in Washington, and what we got was a process that you and I both said we would change."

He called on Democrats to "go back to the beginning" and "remove all the special deals for the special interests and the favored few," adding that he favors a system in which "geography does not dictate what kind of health care."

A visibly annoyed Mr. Obama immediately responded, saying "we can spend the remainder of the time with our respective talking points going back and forth. We were supposed to be talking about insurance."

"We're not campaigning anymore," he told McCain. "The election's over." (Quipped McCain, laughing: "I'm reminded of that every day.")

(CBS)

The president said that he did not want to have Democrats address McCain's objections and get bogged down in old arguments.

"My concern is that if we do that we're essentially back on Fox News or NSMBC on the split screen just arguing back and forth," he said. "So my hope would be that we can just focus on the issues of how we get a bill done."

(at left, Mr. Obama and McCain greet each other at the beginning of the summit)

Mr. Obama added that "the way you characterized" the bill would "obviously" prompt complaints from Democrats.

"We can have a debate about process or we can have a debate about how we're going to help the American people at this point," said the president. "And the latter debate is the one I think they care about a little bit more."

More Coverage of the Health Care Summit:

Live Blog: Hotsheet Tracked the Whole Summit Point by Counterpoint
Marc Ambinder: The Summit was a Tie -- And That's Good News for GOP
Reaction and Analysis on Washington Unplugged
Fact Check: The Health Care Summit
Obama Urges Republicans to Do Some "Soul Searching"
Obama: Americans Aren't "Sultans" Who Can Afford Great Health Coverage
Few Women at Health Care Summit
Obama to McCain: "The Election's Over"
All Hotsheet Coverage

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by armchairfirebrand February 28, 2010 4:29 PM EST: Thursday?s health care summit was what it was: an exercise in rhetoric. Republicans reprised their familiar routine of propaganda and political theater. Democrats dug in, sticking mostly to the same talking points they?ve been repeating for over a year now. And the President persistently attempted to bridge the gaps and break the deadlock between them, to no avail.

Unfortunately, it was obvious from Senator Lamar Alexander?s (R-TN) opening remarks onward that Republicans never intended to have a real conversation about health care. Rather than focusing on areas of potential agreement, like medical malpractice reform, the senator chose instead to misrepresent the facts about health insurance premiums.

Behind a facade of phony fiscal fortitude, the G.O.P. blindly obstructs legislation essential to our economic recovery, hoping that this cynical strategy will return them to power.

Moreover, by repeatedly refusing to engage in a serious exchange of ideas, Congressional Republicans fail to acknowledge the fundamental truth behind health care reform: that it is an economic and social necessity.

Read more @ http://armchairfirebrand.wordpress.com/; Reply to this comment


by Harden_Tar February 26, 2010 8:59 AM EST: HAHAHAHAHA! That is funny. Obama hasn't stopped campaigning yet. It is all he does.; Reply to this comment

by mammographer February 26, 2010 2:44 AM EST

Think about the implications of this exchange. McCain said that both he and Obama made promises to conduct legislative business in an open, transparent way, in front of the C-SPAN cameras, but Obama had broken the promise in producing this bill. Obama's response was, we are no longer campaigning. That is a politician criticizing another politician for not knowing that campaign promises are good only for the duration of the campaign!

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by MPHgrad February 26, 2010 10:38 AM EST: Good one!


by truth-b-toll February 25, 2010 9:07 PM EST: President Obama just needs to say " I AM THE DECIDER!"
nuff said...; Reply to this comment


by JohnGalt_2012 February 25, 2010 7:30 PM EST: Incredible: Obama tells McCain: "I clearly committed to one thing during the campaign and now I am doing the opposite and you should stop complaining about it because I won." This exchange helped me realize that this is the type of immoral leadership we can expect from Democrat Presidents... telling lies to get what they want is just the normal MO. Clinton tells his bald faced "I did not" lie and now Obama adds to the lesson that truth is less important than getting his way.

This is what we get with Liberal Democrats in power folks... their ends justify any means. They will destroy the last remaining threads of common decency just to get credit for their ideas, and shrug off accountability for the damage they cause as a result.; Reply to this comment


by farside1 February 25, 2010 7:02 PM EST: The Democrats have a majority in the House and Had a majority in the Senate and it is the fault of the minority party that these clowns cannot extract their head from the warm place???!!; Reply to this comment


by wdh3007 February 25, 2010 6:58 PM EST: This president clearly cannot take any form of criticism even when it just due and that is just apart of politics. He claims the election is over when infact it has just begun for some in the Congress. With only nine months away Obama is not making it any easier for his party in both houses and for that maybe conservatives everywhere can be for ever grateful so in the end maybe he will not be a total loss afterall. He seems to be willing to stake his entire presidency on healthcare and that is a risk he will have to live with. Bottom line is the people have spoken NO government controlled socialized healthcare and that is more important than both democrats or republicans question is who will listen first I let you figure it out.; Reply to this comment

by mikelpond February 25, 2010 6:11 PM EST

McCain may be reminded everyday that the election is over, but he still hasn't learned it. The irony of John McCain complaining about "special interest deals" is enough to make a horse choke. Time to re-think the senate, we're just wasting money on them. Who do you think is paying for their health care? If you want bipartisan action on this issue, try this: eliminate all government paid health care for Congress!

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by hateisafourletterword February 25, 2010 6:18 PM EST: Are you dumb or just stupid?

I guess no democrat has ever taken "special interests money" have they?


by longtree-2009 February 25, 2010 6:06 PM EST: true, the election is over. but obama fails to recognize that so many u.s. citizens, that voted for him, are sorry all to blazes that obama is potus. many u.s. citizens hope to vote out democrats this year and obama next time around, as of today anyway.; Reply to this comment


by pragmatist1 February 25, 2010 5:57 PM EST: If the president weren't still campaigning, he wouldn't be putting his face or mouth in front of the media as often as he does. It's his way or no way at all. And, don't anyone dare question, challenge, assess, or condemn the man, since he's in charge. Right.; Reply to this comment