Democratic committee drafted party platform for healthcare
04 08 08 - 11:53
Democratic platform embraces Obama's change theme
By THOMAS J. SHEERAN - The Associated Press
CLEVELAND (AP) — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's supporters lobbied Democratic leaders Sunday to include the failed presidential candidate's ideas on health care, even as officials fine-tuned the party platform for nominee-in-waiting Barack Obama.
The committee charged with updating the platform agreed to include suggestions from Clinton, whose campaign emphasized universal health care. Obama also campaigned on improved access to health care, although the two candidates often sparred over how to make it happen and whether it should be mandated.
In a draft of the platform, the party described health care as "a shared responsibility between employers, workers, insurers, providers and government. All Americans should have coverage they can afford."
Michael Yaki, an Obama aide who directed the platform meetings, said the new language was a recognition there may be more than one way to achieve the shared goal of universal coverage.
"There's no real consensus yet on which is the best health care reform to do other than we are committed to universality and we're committed to getting there," Yaki said. "We believe that as you make health care more affordable, people will be able to buy health care — that's the basic principle. How we get there is a matter of the legislative process."
During the primary, Clinton said Obama's plan would leave millions without coverage. As the campaign became an Obama-versus-Republican John McCain contest, Clinton backed off her public criticism.
But Chris Jennings, a Clinton backer and drafting committee member, worked to insert stronger language from Clinton's plan, particularly on the "shared responsibility."
"It was important that that was stated quite clearly in the platform," said Jennings, who served as health care adviser to former President Clinton. He said the committee's move was "an honorable accommodation that illustrates a commitment to unity."
The Republican National Committee said voters deserve a clear plan on health care, not an attempt to mend primary wounds.
"Political tap dancing that attempts to mask his plans to expand government is what we expect from an inexperienced candidate like Barack Obama," RNC Blair Latoff said.
The drafting committee met privately for more than two hours over breakfast on Sunday and emerged with a draft, scheduled to be approved Saturday when the full platform committee meets in Pittsburgh. The final proposal will go to the Democratic convention, beginning Aug. 25 in Denver.
"While there are differing approaches within the party about how best to achieve the commitment of universal coverage, we stand united to achieve this fundamental objective through the legislative process," according to the draft.
The document is also heavy on Obama's message of change, a theme that helped him win his party's nomination.
An AP-Ipsos poll in July found 77 percent of voters said they thought the country was on the wrong track.
Both major political parties produce a platform as a statement of principles each presidential election year. The Republican platform committee meets in late August to develop a draft to present to the GOP convention beginning Sept. 1 in St. Paul, Minn.
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