Health Care

Obama Hits Back at His Critics

"I didn't campaign on the public option."

Take cover, Howard Dean: President Obama hits back at his critics in The Washington Post, saying that "Nowhere has there been a bigger gap between the perceptions of compromise and the realities of compromise than in the health-care bill.” He contends that the legislation matches the proposal he campaigned on: “Every single criteria for reform I put forward is in this bill,” adding “I didn’t campaign on the public option.” He said he is “very enthusiastic” about the achievement, though adds “Do these pieces of legislation have exactly everything I want? Of course not. But they have the things that are necessary to reduce costs for businesses, families, and the government."