Top Moments of the Health Summit

WASHINGTON (Feb. 25) -- Political theater doesn't get more dramatic than today's bipartisan summit on health care. But who has six hours on a weekday to tune in? AOL News does. Watch this space for a rundown of the very best -- and worst -- moments you won't want to miss as we watch the Blair House project so you don't have to.

HOUR 7: What Have We Learned Today? An hour after the summit was scheduled to end, the president states the obvious -- "This has been hard work" -- and thanks the gathering for conducting themselves "in a civil tone." He then, like the college professor he once was, goes through what the students had learned in class:

• Agreement on the need to reform the insurance market, with some variance on the details.
• Agreement on the need for some sort of insurance exchange, with some variance on the details.
• Agreement to allow people to buy insurance across state lines, with some variance on the details.

On providing coverage for 30 million people vs. 3 million, "I'm not sure we can bridge the gap," the president says. Reiterating that starting over was not an option, the president makes a request. "I'd like the Republicans to do a little soul searching. Are there things you'd be willing to embrace to get to this core problem of 30 million people" without coverage?

As for starting over, the president isn't having any of it. Millions without health insurance "don't want us to wait."

"The truth is, politically speaking, there may not be any reason for Republicans to do anything," he says, turning finally to the partisan conundrum before him. Noting that most Republican voters oppose the House and Senate bills, he makes clear he feels their political pain.

"But I thought it was worthwhile for us to make this effort," he says. "We cannot have another yearlong debate on this."

Then, nearly 7 1/2 hours after it began, Obama calls a close to the televised spectacle. "If we can't" forge a compromise, he concludes, "we have to go ahead and make some decision. That's what elections are for."

HOUR 6: Whose Plan Covers More People? Watching the clock tick down, the president turns to coverage. The Republican plan would cover 3 million uninsured Americans. The Democrats' plan, 30 million. "That's a 27 million difference," Obama says to House Minority Leader John Boehner, who is biting his lip. "This is probably going to be the most contentious issue" because providing broader coverage is going to cost money. "We shouldn't pretend there's some magic wand to do it without paying for it," the president says.

"We get a lot of comments from Republicans on the polls and constituents," Obama says in response the GOP mantra that Americans don't want the Democratic bill. "I have constituents in every one of your districts, every one of your states. ... When you tell people the individual elements in the bill, they're all for them."

HOUR 5: Things Turn Testy Boehner makes a point about that stack in front of him. "This 2,700-page bill will bankrupt our country. This right here is a dangerous experiment. We may have problems in our health care system, but we do have the best health care system in the world by far."

As Boehner goes on about billions in taxes, Medicare cuts and the "unwise and unconstitutional" mandate, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi sits head in hand as Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius looks up at the ceiling. The president rubs his eyes and wearily rests his head on his hand. It is getting late in the afternoon and it's starting to show.

"The problem I have is we go back to standard talking points," Obama says. "That doesn't drive us to an agreement."

HOUR 4: Are You Ready for Some Substance? The first third of round two focuses on insurance companies dropping those with pre-existing conditions and the merits of setting up high-risk insurance pools for older, sicker people.

• Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, likens high-risk pools favored by Republicans to racial segregation because it separates the healthy and young from the sick and old, whose health care costs will soar. An individual mandate, he says, is the only way to share the risk and bring premiums down.

• Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., speaks next, talking about "rules set in Washington" where decisions will be made by an "unelected" health and human services secretary. Sebelius listens intently to that. "The American people don't want to be forced to buy health insurance they don't want and can't afford," he says. "The American people are telling us they want to scrap mandates."

• But the president doesn't budge. "If everybody's in the pool, that drives prices down and its cheaper for everyone." He later admits that as a candidate he opposed a mandate and was "dragged kicking and screaming" to changing his mind when it became clear after speaking to experts that those with insurance are already subsidizing those without and that only by having everyone covered will costs come down.

Obama does cede ground when Sen. John McCain, for the second time, brings up an exception for Florida seniors that would let them keep their Medicare Advantage plans while those elsewhere would see their benefits cut.

"I think you make a legitimate point," Obama says.

HALFTIME REVIEWS: Half Full, Half Empty? And is there anything in that glass at all?

• Obama: "I think we're establishing that there are actually some areas of real agreement and we're starting to focus on what the real disagreements are. If you look at the issue of how much government should be involved -- the argument that Republicans are making really isn't that this is a government takeover of health care, but rather that we're insuring the -- or we're regulating the insurance market too much. And that's a legitimate philosophical disagreement. We'll hopefully be able to explore it a little more in the afternoon."
• The New York Times: Obama Stresses Areas of Agreement
• Washington Post: Stark differences quickly emerge at health summit
• The Drudge Report: BORED ALREADY?

HOUR 3: Finally, a Few Flash points McCain finally chimes in and he's all about process. Hearkening back to the campaign when they both "promised change in Washington," the one-time Republican standard bearer talks about how the House and Senate bills were "produced behind closed doors" where "unsavory deal-making" was the rule.

Obama tries to interrupt but, in a scene reminiscent of a presidential campaign debate, McCain insists he be allowed to finish. "My constituents overwhelmingly reject this proposal. They want us to go back to the beginning," he says. "Remove the special deals for special interests and the favored few. Treat all Americans the same."

The president replies in a stern tone: "We're not campaigning anymore. The election's over. We can spend the remainder of the time with our respective talking points, [but] we were supposed to be talking about insurance." He then reiterates the "exhaustive process" that went in to writing the bill and says if Republicans wanted to rehash that, "We're essentially on Fox News or MSNBC on the split screen just arguing back and forth. My hope would be that we focus on the issue of how we get the bill done."

The president's patience appears to fray a bit when it's Rep. Eric Cantor's turn. "Lemme guess," the president says of the stack of paper in front of the Virginia Republican. "That's the 2,400-page health bill," he says with intended sarcasm. Later he scolds Republicans for using "props," saying, "These are the kinds of political things we do that prevent us from having a conversation."

HOUR 2: Key Disagreement: Who Is in Charge? In the first section on health care costs, Democrats pursue a strategy of kumbaya, suggesting that there really isn't much difference between the two sides. "We are on the verge, on the cusp of bridging a lot of gaps," argues Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus.

Minutes later, though, Obama disagrees, saying that the devil isn't in the details at all. Instead, it is rather dramatic: Democrats and Republicans simply have different worldviews. "This is a philosophical debate," he says. But "this is not a government takeover."

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., puts it this way: "We do not agree on who should be in charge," adding later that there is "just a fundamental disagreement. Does Washington know best about what coverage you should have or do you?"

That doesn't sit well with the president. "Anything phrased, 'Does Washington know better' is just tipping the scales because we know everyone is angry at Washington," he says. "It's a good talking point but doesn't address the issue."

HOUR 1: Reality Strikes Immediately President Obama kicks off the summit with a plea: "Make sure this is a discussion and not just us trading talking points." But they are pouring forth already:

• Sen. Lamar Alexander's Republican opening statement provides just that: "We have to start by taking the current bill and putting it on the shelf and start with clean sheet," he says. As the Tennessee senator calls the president's proposal "the mother of all unfunded mandates," a purse-lipped Obama scribbles notes as his fellow Democrats sit stock-still.

• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid repeats his own talking points, telling his "friend Lamar," "You're entitled your own opinion but not your own set of facts." Then, in the same breath he parries back that "no one has talked about reconciliation," he goes on to say that the legislative maneuver requiring a simple majority in the Senate has been used 21 times -- mostly by Republicans.