Gibbs smacks down assertion that of all the bills, Baucus' bill is what President wants

[ProSense]

MR. GIBBS: Good afternoon, hope everyone is doing well. Take us away.

Q Thanks. The bill in the Senate, Baucus's bill, is out now. I assume you guys are pleased that he's put that out, but what does it say that there are no Republicans behind it after all these months of work and all the room you guys let him --

MR. GIBBS: Well, look, I do think -- to step back for a second. I do think the introduction of the legislation is an important building block and gets us closer to comprehensive health care reform. Look, I think -- as it relates to your second question, Jennifer, I think these -- there will be a continued legislative process that will tweak and change legislation, as there always is. So I don't look at -- and I don't think the President looks at today as the end. I think Republicans certainly on the committee will offer amendments to change the bill and we hope in the end that they'll hear what their constituents are saying about the need to address the skyrocketing costs of health care reform.

I think it is tremendously important. I think if you look at the study that was -- that's out today from Kaiser -- Kaiser Health, which shows that over the past year, right, general inflation on everything else is actually down seven-tenths of 1 percent; wages increased 3.1 percent and health care premiums rose 5 percent -- again outstripping improvements in what Americans are making in wages at their work place. And even as everything gets -- based on the economy has gotten cheaper over the last year, health insurance has continued to skyrocket. The cost of health insurance over that 10 year period increased 131 percent. Those are numbers that, whether you're a family or a small business or a big business or a government, are simply unsustainable over the long course.

Q Now that five committees have bills is it fair to say -- it seems to be fair to say that this bill is the one that tracks most closely to what the President wants.

MR. GIBBS: I think there are certainly some parts of it, but I don't think this is a mirror of what the President has talked about and I don't think that would be accurate.

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[jenmito]

1. I watches his briefing. It's so funny how everyone has decided that Baucus's bill is THE bill

Obama wants to pass-as is-no public option, etc. :eyes:

[elleng]

3. Not funny,

but another example of being 'ruled' by a distorted media.

[DCKit]

7. Seriously. When Faux Snooze and the M$M presume to set WH policy.... Jeebus.

It's time to shuffle the chairs in the WH press room and seriously curtail questions from the M$M hacks in favor of actual reporters.

[Marsala]

4. Well, that was the intention until fairly recently

But now that zero Republicans have signed on, it's a whole new ballgame.

[SIMPLYB1980]

2. Good. nt

[Cha]

5. And, if these jackals were paying attention they'd

know it too.

"MR. GIBBS: I think there are certainly some parts of it, but I don't think this is a mirror of what the President has talked about and I don't think that would be accurate."

[yodermon]

6. to the greatest with ye!

yar.

[SpartanDem]

8. You mean the MSM was wrong?

They were telling this was THE bill that the President was going to support this with all his might.

[Cha]

9. The corporatemediaWhores LIE to hurt Americans

and support corporateWhores no matter how vile.