We Love You Obama But Please Show Some Backbone

(written by Helen Thomas - Front Row Seat)

President Obama should stop trying to win bipartisan support for national health care reform legislation.

Obama seems loath to put pressure on fellow Democrats to embrace a government-run health insurance program as part of his reform plan.

Instead, the president has waffled on this key point, most recently saying that it's "only a sliver" of his health care reform goals.

This mushy approach is designed to win Republican votes in Congress. But Obama should recognize that hard-line Republicans are never going to support his health reform program because, for them, the Obama health proposals are a sideshow. Their real goal is to limit his presidency to one term.

He should put his foot down and say that a government-sponsored health insurance agency is absolutely necessary to compete against private companies and keep their rates low. And he should accept the reality that any congressional victory will be won by Democrats -- not by some imaginary bipartisan coalition.

If Obama wants to win, he could tear a page out of Lyndon B. Johnson's book on sure-fire ways to overcome congressional resistance.

Tom Johnson, former deputy White House press secretary for President Lyndon B. Johnson (no relation), recalls that LBJ was relentless in pursuit of needed votes and that he knew what it would take to win every lawmaker's vote on Capitol Hill.

Johnson -- who went on to become publisher of the Los Angeles Times and president of CNN -- said LBJ would be on the telephone with members of Congress and their key staffers, telling them: "Your president really needs your vote on this bill."

He also would know about every special request from every member -- from White House tours to appointments to federal jobs and commissions.

"The Johnson treatment" also included personal or group visits with the president.

Johnson kept tabs on deep-pocket political donors and would urge them to pressure members of Congress to vote a certain way.

He also would call on religious leaders and even have his aide Jack Valenti call the pope "if it would help."

There were also evening meetings with senators and House members, with nightcaps and gifts to take home such as cuff links, watches, signed photos and a pledge to support them in the next election. He also sent them home with gifts for their children and grandchildren.

Bribes? You bet.

Nor were journalists immune from his charms and generosity. Newspaper and television network executives would get calls from Johnson, seeking their support.

He became a familiar figure at six different churches, often using references in the sermons he heard in his next speeches.

He would have been in heaven with a cell phone.

I remember when Johnson was very unhappy with his friend Sen. Frank Church, D-Idaho, who was chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and veering away from support for the Vietnam War.

At a White House reception, Johnson beckoned Church over for a chat and said: "Now Frank, just where do you get your ideas about Vietnam?"

"From Walter Lippmann, the great political columnist," Church replied.

"Well," said Johnson, "the next time you need a dam in Idaho, you just ask Walter Lippmann."

Opponents of Obama's "public plan option" whine about government intervention in the private sector, though they were conspicuously silent when taxpayers had to bailout Wall Street.

Health insurance companies and other critics are pouring millions into defeating the proposed legislation. They are disseminating falsehoods and using fear tactics to scare constituents.

Lawmakers -- our elected public servants -- have a moral duty to help the 47 million Americans who have no insurance. Senators and House members should work to make sure that all Americans have the same comfortable health coverage that they have.