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President Obama spent most of his time trying to inspire Senate Democrats at today's White House meeting.

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, one of the president's closest friends in the Senate, told me the president talked about what a "dramatic step forward" the bill is.

He said the president told him the bill gives people "a fighting chance against the health care companies." Mr. Obama added that "we can't miss this opportunity," according to Durbin.

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Updated at 4 p.m. ET with more information.

After a private meeting with the entire Senate Democratic caucus today, President Obama said he is "cautiously optimistic" the Senate will pass its health care bill.

"If the Senate knows what's in this bill, then this is going to pass because it's what's right for America," Mr. Obama said.

All of the Senate's Democrats were called to the White House to meet with Mr. Obama today after it became clear over the weekend that their latest efforts at moving health care reform forward were once again stalled. Mr. Obama said Congress must not let differences over certain elements of the bill defeat the entire effort.

"Let's be clear. The final bill won't include everything that everybody wants," he said. "We simply cannot allow differences… to prevent us from meeting our responsibility to solve a longstanding and urgent problem for the American people."

As recently as last week, the Senate appeared on the verge of passing its health care bill, after a group of key liberal and conservative Democrats worked out a plan to break the Senate stalemate over the public option. Instead of including a government-run insurance plan (or "public option") in the bill, they proposed allowing people ages 55 to 64 to buy into Medicare.

However, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) -- one of the Democratic caucus members the plan was intended to appease -- dropped a bombshell Sunday on CBS News' "Face the Nation," when he said he would not vote for a bill that expands Medicare.

In spite of the ongoing debate, Mr. Obama said today the bill meets the criteria for reform he laid out at the beginning of the year: It is deficit-neutral, it slows down rising health care costs and expands coverage to tens of millions of people, he said.

"These are big changes," he said. "They will save money.. and they're going to save lives....That's why this reform has to pass on our watch."

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All President Obama wants for Christmas is a Senate-passed health care bill.

He really doesn't care what's in it, because he won't be signing it. The measure will then go into a House-Senate conference committee to produce the bill the president will sign, he hopes, early in the new year.

More than anything else on his legislative agenda, Mr. Obama has staked the prestiege of his presidency on getting a health care bill enacted that expands coverage to the uninsured and lessens the growth rate in the cost of health care.

But his push for health care is a sword that cuts both ways. If he fails to enact a bill, his supporters could take it out on Democrats in next year's midterm elections. And if the bill is seen as more burdensome and expensive than promised, voters could register their dissatisfaction next year on that score as well.

To read more about the process of passing the health care bill, check out CBSNews.com's Health Care Progress Report.

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Mark Knoller is a CBS News White House correspondent. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here. You can also follow him on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/markknoller.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is among the seven finalists for Time's Person of the Year, Time managing editor Rick Stengel announced Monday.

"She's the first woman Speaker of the House, in some ways she may be the strongest Speaker of the House in decades," Stengel said. "She has piloted what is probably the most important legislation in decades through the House… She's a really, really interesting and pivotal figure."

Other finalists include Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, the Chinese worker, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Jamaican Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt and President Obama. Obama was named Time's 2008 Person of the Year, but this does not disqualify him from winning this year. Stengel noted that past presidents, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, have been named multiple times.

In the morning, President Obama will discuss the economic impact of energy saving home retrofits with labor, manufacturing, and small business leaders during remarks and a meeting at a Northern Virginia Home Depot store.

In the afternoon, the president will have lunch with business leaders in the Private Dining Room.

Later, Mr. Obama will meet with members of the Senate Democratic Caucus in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Following the meeting, the president will make a statement to the press in the Diplomatic Reception Room.

The president and Vice President Joe Biden will meet with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in the Oval Office.

Here's the Full Schedule from the White House (all times Eastern):

10:45AM: President Obama holds a meeting to discuss the economic impact of energy saving home retrofits with labor, manufacturing, and small business leaders

11:10AM: President Obama delivers remarks on the economic impact of energy saving home retrofits

12:15PM: President Obama has lunch with business leaders

1:40PM: President Obama meets with members of the Senate Democratic Caucus

3:00PM: President Obama makes a statement to the press after meeting with Democratic Senators

4:45PM: President Obama and Vice President Biden meet with Secretary of Defense Gates

Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** Liberals fume, but go along with Joe Lieberman's health care requests...

** Bank execs' actions don't quite match up to their words...

** Afghanistan troop buildup could take as long as a year...

HEALTH CARE: "Senate Democratic leaders, scrambling for the 60 votes they need to pass the healthcare overhaul bill, moved Monday to strike a controversial proposal for expanding Medicare and proceed without a new government insurance program, the so-called public option," report the Los Angeles Times' Noam N. Levey and Janet Hook.

"'It's a matter of getting 60 senators,' Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) told reporters after an evening meeting of the Democratic caucus in which party leaders stressed the urgency of getting a final Senate vote by next week.

"The proposal to let Americans between 55 and 64 buy into Medicare looked like the key to a compromise last week. But Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) stunned senior Democrats over the weekend with new threats to block the legislation if the Medicare provision was included."

"'Put me down tonight as encouraged about the direction these talks are going,' Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said late Monday, only 24 hours after he rattled Democrats by threatening to oppose the legislation over the Medicare provision," adds the AP's Erica Werner.

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The entire Senate Democratic caucus has been invited to the White House on Tuesday for a group meeting with President Obama on health care reform efforts, CBS News Capitol Hill Producer John Nolen reports. The visit is scheduled for early afternoon and will come in lieu of the Democrats' regular Tuesday policy lunch meeting.

Senate Democrats appeared to be close to securing the 60 votes needed to pass their reform bill until Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) announced on CBS News' "Face the Nation" that he was not happy with the most recent plan. (Read more about the status of the Senate bill in CBSNews.com's Health Care Progress Report.)

The White House is encouraging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to cut a deal with Lieberman, Politico reports, though the White House denies that.

"The report is inaccurate," said White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer in a statement. "The White House is not pushing Senator Reid in any direction. We are working hand-in-hand with the Senate leadership to work through the various issues and pass health reform as soon as possible."

Reid has also called a Democratic caucus meeting for Monday evening.

President Obama's meeting with prominent members of the financial services industry will be missing three key members: Goldman Sachs Chairman Lloyd Blankfein (left), Morgan Stanley Chairman John Mack and Citigroup Chairman Dick Parsons.

All three had been expected to attend the meeting but will miss it "due to inclement weather," according to the White House.

The three planned to participate instead via conference call.

A White House spokesperson told CBS News the cancellations were due to bad weather in New York City – saying the business leaders were stuck on the runway as a result of fog.

The CEOs, interestingly, didn't book private jet flights to meet with the president. But had they flown to D.C. the night before rather than the morning of (flight delays are common this time of year), they likely would have been able to attend in person.

The meeting between the White House and Wall Street leaders comes just one day after an interview aired on "60 Minutes" in which the president railed against Wall Street "fat cats."

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In the morning, President Obama and Vice President Biden will receive the Presidential Daily Briefing in the Oval Office.

The president will then meet with members of the financial industry to discuss economic recovery, small business lending, improving lending practices for homeowners and the administration's plans for financial reform. Following the meeting, Mr. Obama will deliver a statement on the economy in the Diplomatic Reception Room.

In the afternoon, Mr. Obama will meet with President Michel Sleiman of Lebanon in the Oval Office.

Later, the president will have a meeting with Sen. Bob Casey (D-Penn.) in the Oval Office.

Here's the Full Schedule from the White House (all times Eastern):

9:30AM: President Obama and Vice President Biden receive the Presidential Daily Briefing

11:10AM: President Obama meets with members of the financial services industry

12:10PM: President Obama delivers a statement on the economy

12:25PM: President Obama and Vice President Biden have lunch

1:30PM: President Obama meets with President Sleiman of Lebanon

3:00PM: President Obama meets with Senator Bob Casey

Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** Appealing to bank executives for more lending...

** Lieberman and Nelson foil the Dems' latest health care plans...

** Obama defends his timetable for Afghanistan...

PRESIDENT OBAMA: A day after he criticized Wall Street bankers as "fat cats" and said they haven't shown "a lot of shame" in continuing to receive large bonuses, President Obama meets with bank CEOs today at the White House "to exchange ideas on ways to increase lending; to review the financial-industry regulatory bill moving through Congress; and to discuss bankers' compensation, the White House and industry representatives said," the Wall Street Journal's Elizabeth Williamson writes.

"Mr. Obama will meet with some of the country's top bankers, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s Lloyd Blankfein, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s Jamie Dimon, and Bank of America Corp.'s Ken Lewis. The meeting had been expected to be cordial, but recent rhetoric out of the White House suggested that the administration could take a tough stance."

"Administration officials described the meeting as a continuation of discussions the president initiated early in his tenure and the latest push for lenders to take greater responsibility as the nation combats an economic crisis that began on Wall Street," add the AP's Philip Elliott and Daniel Wagner.

"Specifically: Wall Street should fall in line with Obama and back a proposal for a consumer protection agency that cleared the House last week."

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