0:00:02 > 0:00:03- THEY CHANT:- Yes, we can!
0:00:03 > 0:00:05You and I, we're going to change this country
0:00:05 > 0:00:07and we will change the world!
0:00:09 > 0:00:13For millions, the election of Barack Obama to the Oval Office
0:00:13 > 0:00:15marked a new era of hope.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18CHEERING
0:00:18 > 0:00:21The young, energetic President was eager to take on
0:00:21 > 0:00:23the great challenges of his time.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26Our combat mission in Iraq will end.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30Now is the time to finally keep the promise
0:00:30 > 0:00:33of affordable, accessible health care for every single American.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37Let's go get 'em! It's game time.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42But change would be harder than Obama had predicted.
0:00:42 > 0:00:47Am I frustrated that we're not taking bolder steps?
0:00:47 > 0:00:49Absolutely.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51He said, "I am President of the United States,
0:00:51 > 0:00:54"and I can't make anything happen."
0:00:54 > 0:00:56He said, "You know, I don't sleep at night very much."
0:00:56 > 0:01:00He called me a name that I hadn't heard before, or since,
0:01:00 > 0:01:02and stormed out of the room.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07In these four programmes, Barack Obama and his inner circle
0:01:07 > 0:01:08tell the story of what happened
0:01:08 > 0:01:12when he tried to reshape America from inside a White House
0:01:12 > 0:01:14unlike any other in history.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18I am temperamentally optimistic...
0:01:19 > 0:01:20..and...
0:01:20 > 0:01:23tend to take the long view.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27In tonight's programme, how Obama sparked a bitter conflict
0:01:27 > 0:01:30and risked his entire legacy with one piece of legislation.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35This health care bill will ruin our country.
0:01:35 > 0:01:36It's time to stop him.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39When we go out there, it's going to be shock and awe,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43take no prisoners, scorched earth policy...
0:01:43 > 0:01:47What else? Carpet bombing, and that's just the first day.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05In his first weeks in office,
0:02:05 > 0:02:07Barack Obama had to put his bold reforms on hold.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11He was fighting off a new Great Depression.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18As soon as he could, he brought his team together to decide how best
0:02:18 > 0:02:23to use the first Democratic majority in Congress for 15 years.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25Hello, everybody!
0:02:28 > 0:02:30We're sitting in the Oval Office of the President,
0:02:30 > 0:02:32right after the stimulus bill passed,
0:02:32 > 0:02:34trying to decide what to do next.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38We have what can only be considered as a family fight.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42We had all of these bills that had to get done that the
0:02:42 > 0:02:45President felt very strongly about. We called them planes and
0:02:45 > 0:02:47we were air-traffic controllers, trying to decide
0:02:47 > 0:02:50how to land the planes.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53The health care cadre really felt that this was
0:02:53 > 0:02:54a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
0:02:54 > 0:02:57with the Congress composition that we had,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00that Democratic presidents had been trying for 100 years to get
0:03:00 > 0:03:03this done, hadn't been able to do it and that the time was now.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Some people were advising the President,
0:03:08 > 0:03:09because the challenges were so great,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12to pull back on the agenda a little bit.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Maybe not do health care.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16You were dealt a very lousy hand,
0:03:16 > 0:03:18but fighting this recession
0:03:18 > 0:03:21and not having it turn into the second Great Depression,
0:03:21 > 0:03:23that will be a major accomplishment
0:03:23 > 0:03:26and if that's all you accomplish, you've done an amazing thing
0:03:26 > 0:03:28for the American people.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31My advice was - let's do financial reform first.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34More likely to get it, more likely after the stimulus
0:03:34 > 0:03:37to be bipartisan than partisan...
0:03:37 > 0:03:40and therefore created the context for health care.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43My job was to advise him on the politics
0:03:43 > 0:03:45and I knew that seven presidents had tried,
0:03:45 > 0:03:47seven presidents had failed.
0:03:47 > 0:03:48There's a mythology that...
0:03:51 > 0:03:56..gets absorbed by politicians about what issues are winners
0:03:56 > 0:03:58and what issues are losers.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02The conventional wisdom would have been that this is political suicide.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05The President stood up and said,
0:04:05 > 0:04:08"Look, I just went around the country for two years
0:04:08 > 0:04:11"running for President and every single one of you know
0:04:11 > 0:04:13"that the right thing to do is health care,
0:04:13 > 0:04:15"but you're afraid of it."
0:04:15 > 0:04:18I felt it was critical to try.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22I thought that not only the political costs,
0:04:22 > 0:04:26but more importantly, the moral costs...
0:04:27 > 0:04:29..to not trying...
0:04:30 > 0:04:32..were just too high.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35From the state of Massachusetts, Edward Kennedy.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37APPLAUSE
0:04:37 > 0:04:40No-one had tried harder than Obama's mentor and friend,
0:04:40 > 0:04:41Senator Ted Kennedy.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46CHEERING
0:04:46 > 0:04:49National health insurance is the great unfinished business
0:04:49 > 0:04:52on the agenda of the Democratic Party.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57Our party gave social security to the nation in the 1930s...
0:04:58 > 0:05:02..we gave Medicare to the nation in the 1960s...
0:05:02 > 0:05:05and we can bring national health insurance
0:05:05 > 0:05:07to the nation in the 1970s.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09CHEERING
0:05:10 > 0:05:1430 years later, Kennedy, knowing he had only months to live,
0:05:14 > 0:05:16had passed the baton to Obama.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22With Barack Obama, we'll break the old gridlock
0:05:22 > 0:05:25and finally make health care what it should be in America -
0:05:25 > 0:05:29a fundamental right for all, not just an expensive privilege
0:05:29 > 0:05:30for the few.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38When Obama became President a year later,
0:05:38 > 0:05:40he inherited a health care system
0:05:40 > 0:05:43where Americans paid for private medical insurance.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47The government covered veterans, the old and the very poor.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50One in six Americans had no insurance at all.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56His senior advisor, David Axelrod,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59had experienced the unfairness of the health system.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03His daughter Lauren had been ill since she was seven months old.
0:06:04 > 0:06:09For 19 years, she had uncontrolled seizures
0:06:09 > 0:06:12and when I was a young newspaper reporter,
0:06:12 > 0:06:16the treatments and the medication that she cost
0:06:16 > 0:06:18weren't covered by my insurance
0:06:18 > 0:06:20and we couldn't change insurance because
0:06:20 > 0:06:21she had a pre-existing condition,
0:06:21 > 0:06:24so I was one of those Americans who almost went bankrupt.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26I was paying 10,000 a year
0:06:26 > 0:06:30out of pocket on a 38,000-a-year salary.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32I knew the health system wasn't working.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34It certainly wasn't working for us.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41Obama knew it would be unrealistic to create an American NHS.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45Instead, he set out to fix the insurance-based system.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52It was not a revolution in health care, but a...
0:06:54 > 0:06:58..series of reforms that would fill the gaps in health care coverage
0:06:58 > 0:06:59in this country.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01No more what they call gender rating.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05Women were paying 48% more for their health insurance than men.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Insurance companies couldn't deny you health insurance for what
0:07:09 > 0:07:13they termed caesarean section as a pre-existing condition,
0:07:13 > 0:07:16or even a child birth a pre-existing condition,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20or circumstance of violence against women a pre-existing condition.
0:07:20 > 0:07:2445,000 people a year were dying
0:07:24 > 0:07:26because they did not have health insurance.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Universal coverage and making sure the moral dimension of health care
0:07:31 > 0:07:33is dealt with,
0:07:33 > 0:07:36don't think that we can get that done without...
0:07:36 > 0:07:37- HE COUGHS - Excuse me.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40This is a health care forum, so I thought I'd...
0:07:40 > 0:07:42LAUGHTER
0:07:45 > 0:07:48..model what happens when you don't get enough sleep.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52At his White House launch, Obama hosted supporters
0:07:52 > 0:07:54as well as big health care interests,
0:07:54 > 0:07:57like the drugs and insurance industries.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00He was determined to stop them lining up with the Republicans
0:08:00 > 0:08:01against him.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06I'm confident if we come together and work together,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09we will finally achieve what generations of Americans have
0:08:09 > 0:08:14fought for and fulfil the promise of health care in our time.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16So, let's get to work. Thank you.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19APPLAUSE
0:08:20 > 0:08:22The President's health care plan was going to be
0:08:22 > 0:08:25the core component of his administration.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27And the corporations that I worked for,
0:08:27 > 0:08:28the political people that I worked for,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31there was no support for it and they wanted to find some way
0:08:31 > 0:08:32to defeat it.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35There was no way we could support this.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39We felt it was a violation of a core principle of the Republican Party.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43A significant, massive increase in the size of the Federal Government,
0:08:43 > 0:08:45of interference with people's individual choices,
0:08:45 > 0:08:47their individual liberty.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Let's find out how these swing voters in Philadelphia
0:08:49 > 0:08:51felt about the Republican response
0:08:51 > 0:08:54and how Republicans are handling the Obama administration.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57Give me a word or phrase to describe what you just saw.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00When the Republicans needed a phrase to rally the public,
0:09:00 > 0:09:04they turned to wordsmith Frank Luntz and his focus groups.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07At one point, a woman raises her hand and she says,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10"Frank, this isn't government control of health care,
0:09:10 > 0:09:14"this sounds like a government takeover of health care."
0:09:14 > 0:09:16The word rings in my head, I look around
0:09:16 > 0:09:18and I see everyone going, "Ah."
0:09:18 > 0:09:20I see the nodding of the head.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23And I knew I had it and you know it, you can feel it.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26If you really listen to voters, you get it.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29And I remember bursting out in this big-ass smile
0:09:29 > 0:09:31cos I wanted them to know -
0:09:31 > 0:09:32this is it...
0:09:32 > 0:09:33these are the words.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35Just because Frank says it's going to work,
0:09:35 > 0:09:37doesn't mean it's actually going to work
0:09:37 > 0:09:40until you've actually tried it out, but this one clearly hit.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44Luntz presented this phrase "government takeover"
0:09:44 > 0:09:46to his clients - the Republicans in Congress -
0:09:46 > 0:09:48at their weekly private lunch.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54This bill is a fiscal Frankenstein.
0:09:54 > 0:09:55It's a government takeover.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57It's not democratic.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00As members started to use it and got a reaction
0:10:00 > 0:10:03from their constituents, they, of course, then start telling
0:10:03 > 0:10:05their colleagues, "Hey, I used this phrase,
0:10:05 > 0:10:07"this is how I'm talking about it.
0:10:07 > 0:10:08"This is really working."
0:10:08 > 0:10:11The nearly trillion-dollar government takeover
0:10:11 > 0:10:12of our health care system.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17Luntz's phrase energised Americans
0:10:17 > 0:10:19who feared for their place in society.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23This was when the Tea Party took off,
0:10:23 > 0:10:26fighting what they called "socialism".
0:10:26 > 0:10:30- THEY CHANT:- Kill the bill! Kill the bill!
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Socialism is when you take my money and you give it to
0:10:33 > 0:10:36other people who don't deserve it cos they never worked for it.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38- THEY CHANT:- USA! USA!
0:10:38 > 0:10:42We're in a cultural war and this war is a total war.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46The objective of the socialists that are driving the push
0:10:46 > 0:10:50for big government is to control all of education,
0:10:50 > 0:10:54to control the economy, to control our firearms,
0:10:54 > 0:10:55everything.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Nothing is safe from those who think that government
0:10:58 > 0:11:00is the solution to every problem.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04A lot of us still think that government is one of the
0:11:04 > 0:11:06many problems that we need to solve.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13Six months after Obama announced his health care reform,
0:11:13 > 0:11:17members of Congress broke up for their summer vacations.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21They went back to their districts to hold town hall meetings,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24usually polite question and answer sessions.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26INDISTINCT SHOUTING
0:11:29 > 0:11:32- THEY CHANT:- No more ObamaCare!
0:11:32 > 0:11:35'Me and members of my staff got kicked and spit on and yelled at
0:11:35 > 0:11:37'and used the N word.
0:11:37 > 0:11:38'I mean, it was a nasty time.'
0:11:39 > 0:11:43The sort of veins popping out of people's neck kind of anger,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46I had not seen on our soil in that way.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48BOOING
0:11:50 > 0:11:53We found that one of the only ways we could, frankly, keep things
0:11:53 > 0:11:56from getting totally out of control, was to simply say we're not
0:11:56 > 0:12:00going to leave until everyone's had a chance to ask their question.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:12:06 > 0:12:09If you vote in favour of the national health care,
0:12:09 > 0:12:11are you willing to have you and your family
0:12:11 > 0:12:16participate in the same plan you'd be voting in for your constituents?
0:12:16 > 0:12:18That's a fair question, let me say a couple things about it.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22'Night after night, we were doing five, six-hour-long
0:12:22 > 0:12:23town hall meetings.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26I asked the... I asked you as my Congressman...
0:12:26 > 0:12:28With an individual mandate to have health insurance,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31I will seriously consider whether to take the public option or not.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33HE IS DROWNED OUT BY BOOING
0:12:38 > 0:12:41There were dozens of people lined up at the microphone,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44kind of screaming and yelling about issues and
0:12:44 > 0:12:47"how dare you do this?" and "how dare you do that?"
0:12:48 > 0:12:50A woman came to the microphone
0:12:50 > 0:12:53and shook her hand at me and said,
0:12:53 > 0:12:57"You have to promise me that you will keep government
0:12:57 > 0:12:59"out of my Medicare."
0:12:59 > 0:13:03The irony of the question is that Medicare is
0:13:03 > 0:13:08a 100% government-funded programme. It is a single-payer plan run,
0:13:08 > 0:13:12but I promised her that I would indeed do just that.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15Thank you all very much.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17BOOING
0:13:21 > 0:13:24The town hall meetings unnerved Obama's advisors.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30They feared that they were losing support in the country
0:13:30 > 0:13:31and in Congress.
0:13:38 > 0:13:39All right, let's go.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41Let's start with legislate, Phil.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45Health care is the next three weeks of committee.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48'The President felt we had a failure to communicate properly
0:13:48 > 0:13:49'on the health care bill'
0:13:49 > 0:13:53and any time failures to communicate came up,
0:13:53 > 0:13:57I took that very personally because that was my portfolio.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00But I was frustrated because he had been told on the front end, by me
0:14:00 > 0:14:04and others, that it was going to be very difficult to communicate.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09When you give him bad news,
0:14:09 > 0:14:11he asks very good questions.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14He doesn't react in anger or emotion,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18but you could tell he was just sort of weighing all this in his mind
0:14:18 > 0:14:21and really thinking about - what do we do next?
0:14:21 > 0:14:23For me to say,
0:14:23 > 0:14:25"I'm quitting, I'm giving up"
0:14:25 > 0:14:31didn't hold a lot of appeal to me, so...
0:14:31 > 0:14:34Did I doubt that we might...
0:14:35 > 0:14:37..be able to get this done? Absolutely.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41I thought that, you know, we're just not going to
0:14:41 > 0:14:44be able to navigate all the challenges that are involved here.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46He was getting a lot of advice to shift
0:14:46 > 0:14:49to a smaller approach on health care,
0:14:49 > 0:14:52that the window had closed in getting a comprehensive bill passed.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55You could always count on Phil Schiliro to come up with
0:14:55 > 0:14:59a solution and it would be always the third way that worked.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03And the President said, "Phil, what's that third way?"
0:15:03 > 0:15:06And Phil, who's normally a very optimistic person,
0:15:06 > 0:15:10kind of looked down and he said, "Well, you know, Mr President,
0:15:10 > 0:15:12"unless you're feeling really lucky,
0:15:12 > 0:15:14"I'm not sure there is a third way."
0:15:14 > 0:15:18And so the President gets up and he walks around the office
0:15:18 > 0:15:20and he starts to look out the window - we're kind of wondering,
0:15:20 > 0:15:24"What's he doing?" And he said, "Phil, where are we?"
0:15:24 > 0:15:27And Phil said, "Sir, we're in the Oval Office."
0:15:27 > 0:15:29And he said, "And what's my name?"
0:15:29 > 0:15:32And Phil said, "Well, President Barack Obama."
0:15:32 > 0:15:35And so the President turned around with this great smile on his face
0:15:35 > 0:15:38and he said, "Well, then of course I'm feeling lucky!"
0:15:38 > 0:15:40He said, "I'm a black guy named Barack Obama
0:15:40 > 0:15:44"and I'm President of the United States, I feel lucky all the time."
0:15:44 > 0:15:47The President decided he was still going to go forward
0:15:47 > 0:15:49and make the decision we can get across the finish line.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53He had to make the case,
0:15:53 > 0:15:56so he went before Congress in September, a joint session.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58APPLAUSE
0:16:04 > 0:16:06CHEERING
0:16:06 > 0:16:08Thank you.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14I realise that many Americans have grown nervous about reform.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19Some of people's concerns have grown out of bogus claims,
0:16:19 > 0:16:23spread by those whose only agenda is to kill reform at any cost.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31Under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33Now, my health care proposal
0:16:33 > 0:16:35has also been attacked by some who oppose
0:16:35 > 0:16:38reform as a government takeover of the entire health care system.
0:16:39 > 0:16:44One of the Republicans said something most unusual
0:16:44 > 0:16:46and uncharacteristic of the decorum that we usually
0:16:46 > 0:16:49have in the House, which I won't repeat.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51The reforms I'm proposing
0:16:51 > 0:16:53would not apply to those who are here illegally.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55- MAN:- You lie!
0:16:55 > 0:16:57GASPING
0:16:57 > 0:16:59It's not true.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01I gave him my mother-of-five look.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04No, I think it was worse than that.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08The time for bickering is over.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12- APPLAUSE - The time for games has passed.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15Now is the season for action.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25The previous attempt to pass a health care law failed
0:17:25 > 0:17:28when the White House tried to impose a bill on Congress.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33Obama's strategist was not going to let him repeat THAT mistake.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36One of the things that seemed very important is not to have
0:17:36 > 0:17:39the President put out his own bill.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42I thought if he did that, he'd be putting a bill that potentially
0:17:42 > 0:17:45could pass the House but not the Senate.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49Or it would be able to pass the Senate but not the House.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53And so, for this one it made sense to have the bills get developed in
0:17:53 > 0:17:57each chamber separately and then try to bring them together at the end.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04As the bills made their way through Congress, Obama set out
0:18:04 > 0:18:06to sell his vision, as only he could.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10You had a young woman who was diagnosed with cancer,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13but because she had a case of acne that the insurance company said
0:18:13 > 0:18:18hadn't been declared, they decided they wouldn't cover her.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21By the time her insurance was reinstated,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24her breast cancer had more than doubled in size.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29Now, these stories are heartbreaking, they are wrong,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32nobody in America should be treated that way,
0:18:32 > 0:18:36and we are going to bring about change this year.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38CHEERING
0:18:39 > 0:18:41I need your voice.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45- So I want to know, are you fired up? - CHEERING
0:18:45 > 0:18:47- Ready to go? - ALL:- Ready to go!
0:18:47 > 0:18:48- Fired up?- Fired up!
0:18:48 > 0:18:50- Ready to go!- Ready to go!
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Let's go change the world. Thank you, everybody.
0:18:53 > 0:18:59- THEY CHANT:- Kill the bill! Kill the bill! Kill the bill!
0:19:01 > 0:19:05The mainstream Republican leadership had been wary of the Tea Party,
0:19:05 > 0:19:09but now, as the first vote in the House of Representatives approached,
0:19:09 > 0:19:13House Republican leader John Boehner courted them.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17I'm going to stand with you and all freedom loving Americans
0:19:17 > 0:19:19against this bill.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25Join us in saying "no" to a government takeover of health care.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30Join us in rejecting higher taxes and more deficit.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34Join us in defending our freedom.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39And join us in defeating Pelosicare.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45By a few votes, the health care bill passed in the House.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49CHEERING
0:19:53 > 0:19:56Now it was the Senate's turn to vote on THEIR bill.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59But the Senate Democrats were fighting amongst themselves
0:19:59 > 0:20:01about the public option.
0:20:01 > 0:20:06This was government-run insurance to compete with the private companies.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08The party's right wing feared the public option
0:20:08 > 0:20:12was the first step to a national health service.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16- Good morning, everybody. - Good morning, Senator.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Senator Joe Lieberman was at the heart of this group
0:20:19 > 0:20:21of conservative Democratic senators.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26I thought if the US government
0:20:26 > 0:20:29took over health care
0:20:29 > 0:20:31or there was a public option
0:20:31 > 0:20:33that would be the beginning of,
0:20:33 > 0:20:35talk about the camel's nose under the tent,
0:20:35 > 0:20:37that it would eventually lead to
0:20:37 > 0:20:41an enormous increase in federal spending.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Lieberman could kill the bill.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47It took 60 senators to end debate on a bill.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50Exactly the number of Democratic votes.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52Lieberman's vote was the 60th.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55Democratic leaders say you're holding the President hostage.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58Oh, goodness, no. I'm here to...
0:20:58 > 0:21:00The President told me, "Harry,
0:21:00 > 0:21:05"this legislation is more important to me, by far, than my re-election.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09"This is going to do something to change America
0:21:09 > 0:21:11"and we've got to get this done."
0:21:11 > 0:21:15Joe Lieberman caused me a bit of trouble on national TV.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17You've got to take out the Medicare buy-in,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20you've got to forget about the public option.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22'I left the studio, and probably'
0:21:22 > 0:21:26five minutes afterwards, in the car going home,
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Harry Reid called me and said,
0:21:28 > 0:21:32"Can you come to my office this afternoon?"
0:21:35 > 0:21:41I said, "Look, I think there's a lot here for the liberal part of
0:21:41 > 0:21:44"the Democratic Party to stick with it and nobody can get everything."
0:21:44 > 0:21:46It was a bitter pill.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49There were many members on the liberal side of the spectrum
0:21:49 > 0:21:51anxious to include public options.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54But Lieberman's decision closed the door.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58There was no public option in the bill
0:21:58 > 0:22:01when the senators arrived for the vote on Christmas Eve.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09A blizzard had crippled the capital's transport system.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12The only danger now for Leader Harry Reid
0:22:12 > 0:22:17was that if even one Democrat failed to turn up, the bill couldn't pass.
0:22:17 > 0:22:22The Republican senator from Oklahoma said, Senator Byrd was very old,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25and the Senator for Oklahoma said
0:22:25 > 0:22:29he hoped he'd died during the night so we would be short one vote.
0:22:29 > 0:22:3392-year-old Democrat Robert Byrd had been a senator
0:22:33 > 0:22:35since before Obama was born.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39- Good morning.- Good morning. - How do you feel?- Good.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42How do you feel about working on the day before Christmas?
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Oh, I do what duty tells me to do.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47Mr Byrd.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Mr Reid of Nevada.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58'And finally, it's going to pass.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00'I vote no.'
0:23:00 > 0:23:01LAUGHTER
0:23:04 > 0:23:06'For a few seconds I just was so'
0:23:06 > 0:23:08engrossed in my thoughts that...
0:23:08 > 0:23:12I guess I was so used to voting "no" on stuff it was a surprise to me,
0:23:12 > 0:23:15to vote and actually get something done.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20Mr Reid of Nevada, aye.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23We changed it real quick, yeah.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26But it was a little, a little embarrassing.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34Later that day, Obama headed off for Christmas with his family.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39Now all he needed was for House and Senate Democrats
0:23:39 > 0:23:41to agree how to combine their two bills.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49I'll be rolling up my sleeves and spending some time
0:23:49 > 0:23:52before the full Congress even gets into session.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56Because there are a lot of provisions that are both in
0:23:56 > 0:24:00the Senate and in the House bill, I actually think that reconciling them
0:24:00 > 0:24:04is not going to be as difficult as some people may anticipate.
0:24:04 > 0:24:09In the early spring of an election year, the Members of Congress,
0:24:09 > 0:24:13their attention naturally turns away from his agenda
0:24:13 > 0:24:18on to their own re-election and he knew that, you know,
0:24:18 > 0:24:20it's like turning over an hourglass
0:24:20 > 0:24:24and the sands are just going down really fast then.
0:24:24 > 0:24:29The President decided to do something that was quite unusual.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32I don't know if it had ever been done before for a particular
0:24:32 > 0:24:35piece of legislation like this.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39He held and led several days of meetings in the Cabinet room.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54Senate Democrats and House Democrats argued and squabbled
0:24:54 > 0:24:57and said they were going to get up and leave.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59There was a lot of anger, a lot of emotion.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02What we were talking about in my estimation was getting a bill,
0:25:02 > 0:25:06and I had to protect my senators and make sure I didn't give up too much.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09There were certain things that the senators were just not going to
0:25:09 > 0:25:12put in their bill, or that they would have in their bill
0:25:12 > 0:25:14that we objected to.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17The President was getting a little exasperated, and we all were,
0:25:17 > 0:25:19we were all tired of it.
0:25:19 > 0:25:24We took a break and went in across the hall to the Oval Office.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29He said, "You know, I think I've just about
0:25:29 > 0:25:31"done everything I can do here."
0:25:31 > 0:25:34And Rahm said, "You know, you're right."
0:25:34 > 0:25:37At a certain point, your presence,
0:25:37 > 0:25:39they've got to know that you have a price.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42It doesn't add anything for you to stay another two hours.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46In some sense, they're enjoying debating in front of you.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50This debate was about money.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54The Senate had a plan to cut costs that the House opposed.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57The Chief Of Staff saw a way to break the deadlock.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00Obama had to back one side.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04I'll make sure they know what the price is.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07You don't have to do that.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11The President stood up in place and he said, "That's it, I'm finished.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14"If we can't get the Democrats to agree on this,
0:26:14 > 0:26:16"we don't have a chance,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18"and obviously my presence here is not helping.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21"As far as I'm concerned, this meeting is over.
0:26:21 > 0:26:22"I'm going to bed."
0:26:22 > 0:26:26And he walked out of the room, and there was this lull, this pause.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30Pelosi started picking up her papers,
0:26:30 > 0:26:34Reid started picking up his papers, and at that point
0:26:34 > 0:26:38Rahm Emanuel stood up and said, "Stop, we can't leave this way!"
0:26:38 > 0:26:42I said, "There will not be a bill with his signature, without it,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45"so let's go on to the other items since he's already decided
0:26:45 > 0:26:48"what he wants, and his signature is the only way it becomes law."
0:26:50 > 0:26:53That was kind of like about 11.50pm.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Rahm is saying, "All right, Henry, you take this, and you take that,
0:26:56 > 0:26:58"and does this work, Nance?"
0:26:58 > 0:27:01And then that's how we kind of finally got it done
0:27:01 > 0:27:03and people agreed - "this works".
0:27:07 > 0:27:10As soon as Congress reconvened, the Democrats would pass
0:27:10 > 0:27:13this combined bill, and health care would be law.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23But then, a Democrat in Boston, Massachusetts,
0:27:23 > 0:27:26said something that would undo all their work.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32A by-election was underway to fill the Senate seat of Ted Kennedy,
0:27:32 > 0:27:34who had died of cancer.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38Democrat Martha Coakley was the frontrunner,
0:27:38 > 0:27:41until she offended Boston's Red Sox fans.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44When asked why all the backroom dealing,
0:27:44 > 0:27:45she told the Boston Globe...
0:27:49 > 0:27:52You could not think of a...
0:27:52 > 0:27:54of a comment more calculated to antagonise people
0:27:54 > 0:27:57in the state of Massachusetts.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00The President came in, I told him what had happened
0:28:00 > 0:28:04and he started leaping up and down, shouting,
0:28:04 > 0:28:06"She didn't say that!
0:28:06 > 0:28:08"No, she's going to lose! She's going to lose!"
0:28:08 > 0:28:13It never crossed my mind that a Republican might win
0:28:13 > 0:28:16the special election to replace Senator Kennedy,
0:28:16 > 0:28:18it was inconceivable.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22This is, after all, the People's Republic Of Massachusetts.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28Obama rushed up to campaign, but it was too late.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32Oh, my God!
0:28:32 > 0:28:35A Republican is going to win this seat and, more importantly,
0:28:35 > 0:28:38it's going to give Republicans 41 votes in the Senate,
0:28:38 > 0:28:40which is the magic number.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43That means we can stop the health care bill in its current form.
0:28:57 > 0:29:02He was almost clinical in the way he was looking at it,
0:29:02 > 0:29:05asking each person, so, what does this mean?
0:29:05 > 0:29:12What does the election mean? What are our options here? How?
0:29:12 > 0:29:14Is there a way to still get health reform done?
0:29:15 > 0:29:19It was seen not just as a harbinger of doom for the health care law,
0:29:19 > 0:29:24but also as a harbinger of doom for the Obama presidency in many ways.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28I teared up, and I remember thinking this is terrible
0:29:28 > 0:29:30to do this in the Oval Office.
0:29:30 > 0:29:35I didn't openly cry but, you know, I was tired anyway, really tired.
0:29:36 > 0:29:41I knew that he wasn't giving up, but in my heart I wondered if he should.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46It's not expected that the President
0:29:46 > 0:29:51and that the incumbent party does well in a mid-term election,
0:29:51 > 0:29:54but we were starting to get really worried about what would happen.
0:29:54 > 0:30:00My attitude was that we were close enough to the finish line
0:30:00 > 0:30:06when we lost that 60th vote in the Senate
0:30:06 > 0:30:11that coming up with some creative legislative manoeuvres
0:30:11 > 0:30:14was in the realm of possibility.
0:30:14 > 0:30:19Once you're halfway up a mountain, a lot of times it's easier to just
0:30:19 > 0:30:23keep on going up rather than trying to back your way down.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26The only path was going to be to convince the House to pass
0:30:26 > 0:30:29the Senate bill, which the House didn't want to do
0:30:29 > 0:30:32because it disagreed with parts of the Senate bill,
0:30:32 > 0:30:36and I knew that was going to be enormously unpleasant.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42Obama rang the Speaker of the House.
0:30:43 > 0:30:48The President said, "You just go pass the Senate bill in the House."
0:30:48 > 0:30:51I said, "My members won't vote for it. They will not vote for it.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54"There are issues, there are provisions in the bill that
0:30:54 > 0:30:59"we are not ever going to support, and so we're not doing that."
0:30:59 > 0:31:04I knew the odds that day were very low, if the vote were that day,
0:31:04 > 0:31:07that the House would pass the Senate bill.
0:31:07 > 0:31:09That wasn't the key issue.
0:31:09 > 0:31:14The key issue was, with Nancy Pelosi leading the House Democrats,
0:31:14 > 0:31:18could they eventually pass the Senate bill?
0:31:18 > 0:31:21She had at least as much to lose as I did
0:31:21 > 0:31:24because she had upcoming elections,
0:31:24 > 0:31:26and she knew that this might be costly,
0:31:26 > 0:31:29given how poisonous the atmosphere had become.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35Pelosi agreed to try.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39One week later, she put Obama's suggestion that they pass
0:31:39 > 0:31:42the hated Senate bill to the House Democrats.
0:31:44 > 0:31:50Many people got up to the microphone and said that we had to back down.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55That the message from the Massachusetts election
0:31:55 > 0:31:57was that we should abandon health care reform
0:31:57 > 0:32:01and we should, at best, adopt a piecemeal approach.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04Many others got up and said that we should power forward
0:32:04 > 0:32:07and that the Senate bill wasn't perfect
0:32:07 > 0:32:10but that we should continue to move it through.
0:32:10 > 0:32:15There was loud, vocal, noisy disagreement
0:32:15 > 0:32:19at that first caucus meeting and a lot of people were very scared.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25But Pelosi wouldn't give up.
0:32:25 > 0:32:29She came up with an ingenious plan that might persuade House Democrats
0:32:29 > 0:32:31to save health care.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34She would take advantage of a rule that special bills that save
0:32:34 > 0:32:38the government money need only 51 votes in the Senate.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45We made a list of all the objection...not all,
0:32:45 > 0:32:50but a reasonable list of our objections to the Senate bill,
0:32:50 > 0:32:55and then we said to the Senate, "We need a letter signed by 51
0:32:55 > 0:33:00"Senate Democrats that they will pass these provisions
0:33:00 > 0:33:03"when we send them over."
0:33:03 > 0:33:05You know, we'll send, we'll pass the Senate bill
0:33:05 > 0:33:09and then we'll send these additions over to the Senate,
0:33:09 > 0:33:13and we need the 51, the commitment of 51, that they will change.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15That's the only way that we're going to have a health care bill
0:33:15 > 0:33:18cos we're not passing the Senate bill the way it is.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24This was unprecedented,
0:33:24 > 0:33:27but Harry Reid promised to get Pelosi her letter.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31He'd get 51 senators to sign a pledge that they would
0:33:31 > 0:33:33vote for the changes the House wanted.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41But he insisted their names would not be revealed.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46I just didn't feel it was appropriate, I didn't want,
0:33:46 > 0:33:49I didn't want people going around saying, "Did you sign it?
0:33:49 > 0:33:50"Did you not sign it?"
0:33:50 > 0:33:52I can't recall the exact number,
0:33:52 > 0:33:55there were some that were written in a very faint hand.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59The letter was never made public.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04I just read the letter, respected the word of those members,
0:34:04 > 0:34:07told my members, of the Senators,
0:34:07 > 0:34:10told my members, I've seen the letter, I'm satisfied.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14Many of her members would take more convincing.
0:34:25 > 0:34:30Meanwhile, Obama visited the Republicans at their annual retreat.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33For a year he had been seeking their cooperation.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37The White House suggested that the meeting be broadcast live.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53The leaders were walking him in to the event,
0:34:53 > 0:34:56almost as if they were security guards.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58APPLAUSE
0:35:02 > 0:35:06And he's, you know, standing tall, he's got a smile on his face,
0:35:06 > 0:35:09he's looking very presidential, straight ahead.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15And then there are all the Republican House leaders who were
0:35:15 > 0:35:19looking down at their shoes, and you could see on their faces,
0:35:19 > 0:35:21"I wish I wasn't here,"
0:35:21 > 0:35:24and, "I wish I wasn't escorting this guy into our retreat."
0:35:24 > 0:35:27You know what they say, keep your friends close,
0:35:27 > 0:35:29but visit the Republican caucus every few months.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31LAUGHTER
0:35:34 > 0:35:37Frankly, how some of you went after this bill,
0:35:37 > 0:35:42you think that this thing was some Bolshevik plot.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45'He's very combative, much more than I expected.'
0:35:45 > 0:35:49Some of the Republicans were asking not the most effective questions,
0:35:49 > 0:35:51and he was batting them away.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53No, no, no, no.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55Hold on a second, guys.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58You know, Mike...
0:35:59 > 0:36:01..I've read your legislation.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06I mean, I take a look at this stuff.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09It can't be all or nothing, one way or the other.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13And he starts to complain about the political process and how
0:36:13 > 0:36:16poisoned it is, and how partisan it is, and how negative it is.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20Unfortunately that's how our politics works right now.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22That's how a lot of our discussion works.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26'And he looks at me and he gets this smile on his face,
0:36:26 > 0:36:28'and I'm looking at him, assuming he's looking
0:36:28 > 0:36:30'three tables behind me.'
0:36:30 > 0:36:31..all the talking points.
0:36:31 > 0:36:33I see Frank Luntz up here, sitting in the front.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35He's already polled it, and he's said, you know,
0:36:35 > 0:36:39"The way you're really going to... I've done a focus group, and the
0:36:39 > 0:36:43"way we're really going to box in Obama on this one or make Pelosi
0:36:43 > 0:36:45"look bad on that one..."
0:36:45 > 0:36:47I know, I like Frank, we've had conversations...
0:36:47 > 0:36:51between Frank and I, but that's how we operate.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55It's all tactics, and it's not solving problems.
0:36:55 > 0:36:57Now, understand that when
0:36:57 > 0:37:00the President of the United States, I don't care who he is,
0:37:00 > 0:37:03calls out your name, the first thing you try not to do is faint.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09I don't want to sound like some kind of weak-kneed guy,
0:37:09 > 0:37:12but I wasn't expecting it. But he doesn't leave me alone.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15He's like, "There's Frank Luntz and he's got his computer
0:37:15 > 0:37:16"and he's taking notes."
0:37:16 > 0:37:18And he was kind of telling the truth.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21I had been taking notes that I was going to present to them
0:37:21 > 0:37:24that afternoon in how to respond to the President.
0:37:24 > 0:37:25Thank you, everybody.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28God bless the United States of America.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42Even if Obama didn't convince a single Republican,
0:37:42 > 0:37:46218 House Democrats would be enough to pass health care.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51The President and Phil Schiliro had their work cut out.
0:37:52 > 0:37:57We didn't have 218, we were in the low 200s -
0:37:57 > 0:38:00205, 208, depending on the day.
0:38:00 > 0:38:05Phil carried around a card that he kept inside his breast pocket
0:38:05 > 0:38:09of his jacket, sort of like a forced ranking from the
0:38:09 > 0:38:12least likely to support down to the most likely.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15The ones at the top were the ones that we needed to work on,
0:38:15 > 0:38:18and every morning we would sit and go through that list.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23Top of the list was Congressman Bart Stupak.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27Stupak led a coalition of Democrats who were against abortion.
0:38:27 > 0:38:28So I really have a dilemma.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32One principle, I want to see health care pass,
0:38:32 > 0:38:3445,000 Americans die - one every 12 minutes -
0:38:34 > 0:38:36because they don't have health care,
0:38:36 > 0:38:38and over here I don't want to have federal funding
0:38:38 > 0:38:42paying for abortions so young children cannot be born.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47Obama wanted to keep abortion out of the debate,
0:38:47 > 0:38:50but Stupak had enough allies in the party to kill the bill.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55And the Republicans were happy to join him.
0:38:55 > 0:38:59They were almost all anti-abortion. Pro-life.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03I'm from what you might call a big family,
0:39:03 > 0:39:05I've got 11 brothers and sisters.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08CHEERING
0:39:11 > 0:39:14I'm sure it wasn't easy for our mother to have 12 of us,
0:39:14 > 0:39:16but I'm glad we're all here.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18CHEERING
0:39:20 > 0:39:24Stupak had written an amendment to guarantee that government money
0:39:24 > 0:39:27could not pay for abortions. Effectively, this would also stop
0:39:27 > 0:39:31private insurance companies from selling abortion coverage.
0:39:33 > 0:39:39They would have prohibited women from paying with their own funds,
0:39:39 > 0:39:45in addition to preventing federal funds from being used.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50That, we could not allow to happen.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53No-one was willing to talk to me or move this legislation along,
0:39:53 > 0:39:56and my little coalition was saying, we're not voting for it
0:39:56 > 0:40:00unless we get an opportunity to vote on life issues.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05- How close were you to a deal again? - Getting there, getting there.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08- God bless you! - We love you, Congressman Stupak.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11We're praying for you. Stand for life, sir.
0:40:12 > 0:40:16We would not be able to get to 218 unless we can pick that lock
0:40:16 > 0:40:21and figure out how to solve it and accommodate their concerns
0:40:21 > 0:40:23and then the concerns of people on the other side.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27I'd like now to introduce Sister Keehan or, as we say,
0:40:27 > 0:40:30Yester, it's your podium.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35The White House turned to a powerful ally within the Catholic Church
0:40:35 > 0:40:39to help them remove abortion from the health care debate.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44Sister Carol Keehan was CEO of the Catholic Health Association,
0:40:44 > 0:40:48the largest non-profit provider of health care in the US.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52'She and I talked quite a bit about it and I suggested'
0:40:52 > 0:40:57that the President call her and he did, and she was convinced.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01They had a good rapport and trust,
0:41:01 > 0:41:04and she was convinced that
0:41:04 > 0:41:07President Obama had no intention of covering abortion.
0:41:07 > 0:41:12The President had said, at the joint session of Congress,
0:41:12 > 0:41:15there will not be federal funding of abortion in the bill,
0:41:15 > 0:41:19so even the pro-abortion people
0:41:19 > 0:41:22knew they weren't going to get federal funding of abortion.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26But Obama's words were not enough
0:41:26 > 0:41:28for the Conference of Catholic Bishops,
0:41:28 > 0:41:32who had been working closely with Stupak over his amendment.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41Sister Carol went to Chicago to meet the head of the bishops,
0:41:41 > 0:41:43Cardinal Francis George.
0:41:47 > 0:41:51She hoped to persuade him to believe the President
0:41:51 > 0:41:55and issue a joint letter that united the Catholic Church behind the bill.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04Well, I went to his home, spent two hours with him.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08We walked through all the pieces of the bill, all the concerns,
0:42:08 > 0:42:12all the potential for being double-crossed,
0:42:12 > 0:42:16the various discussions that we'd had with the White House
0:42:16 > 0:42:18and with the Members of Congress.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22This was a way to help the poor, that was what she saw,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25and I can see why she saw that,
0:42:25 > 0:42:29but she was of the opinion that we could take care of everything else
0:42:29 > 0:42:31after it was passed again.
0:42:31 > 0:42:35And we were saying that would be too late
0:42:35 > 0:42:37and we must stay together on this.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41I faxed him a letter at his office and at his home,
0:42:41 > 0:42:47saying, "Time is running out, we either go on record together
0:42:47 > 0:42:50"or we're going to lose the opportunity
0:42:50 > 0:42:53"to push this bill over the line."
0:42:57 > 0:43:01And I didn't get that to her in time - I did delay.
0:43:02 > 0:43:06With just a few days left before the vote, Sister Carol had to decide
0:43:06 > 0:43:07whether to go it alone.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10If she did, she would expose a rift in the Church.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15I was doing my little column that I do every two weeks.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19For many people, it'd just be seen as a dinky little newspaper
0:43:19 > 0:43:21that goes to our members.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24I said, "Now is the time to get the job done,
0:43:24 > 0:43:27"we need to get this bill passed."
0:43:27 > 0:43:30I didn't think it would amount to a hill of beans.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32Catholic nuns are breaking from their bishops
0:43:32 > 0:43:34and supporting the health care bill.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37By Friday evening I was getting calls from everybody.
0:43:37 > 0:43:41Who would you bet on in a fight, if the fight is between
0:43:41 > 0:43:44Congressman Bart Stupak on one side
0:43:44 > 0:43:49and 59,000 nuns on the other side?
0:43:49 > 0:43:53Say it with me now, 59,000 nuns...
0:43:53 > 0:43:56sent a letter to House lawmakers today,
0:43:56 > 0:43:59urging them to pass the Senate health reform bill.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02What do you make of the large organisation of religious orders,
0:44:02 > 0:44:04of religious nuns, what do you make of them
0:44:04 > 0:44:07coming out for the bill as it's written?
0:44:07 > 0:44:10Well, with all due respect to the nuns, when I deal, or when we're
0:44:10 > 0:44:14working on right-to-life issues, we don't call the nuns. I mean...
0:44:14 > 0:44:17When they asked me about it, they did catch me by surprise.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19The media told me about it.
0:44:19 > 0:44:24Why are the bishops more reliable than the nuns?
0:44:24 > 0:44:26Well, because I don't think I've ever been in...
0:44:26 > 0:44:29In my 18 years, I don't think I ever have been contacted
0:44:29 > 0:44:34by the nuns on legislation. You know, seldom do you see it,
0:44:34 > 0:44:37they're not considered one of the groups
0:44:37 > 0:44:40that's actively involved up here on issues.
0:44:40 > 0:44:42They may surface, they may write a letter,
0:44:42 > 0:44:45but they're not up here talking with members, and they're
0:44:45 > 0:44:49not the recognised spokesperson for the Catholic Church.
0:44:53 > 0:44:57I met with certain members of Congress who were pro-life,
0:44:57 > 0:45:01and who had the same concerns we had, and it really wasn't
0:45:01 > 0:45:04so much an attempt to persuade,
0:45:04 > 0:45:07as to explain how we got to where we were.
0:45:07 > 0:45:11People who actually understand how the health care system works,
0:45:11 > 0:45:14like Sister Carol, and understood how the bill worked,
0:45:14 > 0:45:18ended up just having a lot more knowledge of reality.
0:45:21 > 0:45:25She brought the CHA into a position where publicly
0:45:25 > 0:45:27they were opposed to the bishops.
0:45:27 > 0:45:31That's an extraordinary thing for somebody that calls themselves
0:45:31 > 0:45:35Catholic to do, and so it also threatened
0:45:35 > 0:45:40the unity of the Church, as well as influenced public policy.
0:45:40 > 0:45:44The bishops either didn't understand the bill or were trying to do
0:45:44 > 0:45:48something other than... You know, just wanted to stop the bill,
0:45:48 > 0:45:51so we were never going to find common ground with them.
0:45:53 > 0:45:56With the bishops. But the nuns, thank God for the nuns.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02Stupak's anti-abortion coalition had shrunk to six.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04If the White House could win them over,
0:46:04 > 0:46:08Obama would have the 218 votes he needed.
0:46:08 > 0:46:09He had one more weapon,
0:46:09 > 0:46:12he could issue an executive order, a presidential
0:46:12 > 0:46:16decree that guaranteed abortion rules were not going to change.
0:46:16 > 0:46:18We knew if we put it out there too soon,
0:46:18 > 0:46:21the idea of the executive order from the President,
0:46:21 > 0:46:24that the opposition would form around it
0:46:24 > 0:46:26and there would be something wrong with it,
0:46:26 > 0:46:29and on the other side, the women members would get more upset
0:46:29 > 0:46:31and it just wouldn't work,
0:46:31 > 0:46:36so it was on purpose a last-minute effort to resolve
0:46:36 > 0:46:40everyone's concerns and it had to be timed just exactly right.
0:46:40 > 0:46:44Well, on this beautiful morning, we are here to mark the passage
0:46:44 > 0:46:48of a welcome piece of legislation for our fellow Americans
0:46:48 > 0:46:51who are seeking work in this difficult economy.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54Obama chose his moment carefully.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57Three days before the health care vote,
0:46:57 > 0:47:00he invited Congressman Stupak to the signing of a jobs bill.
0:47:03 > 0:47:04They have the bill signing ceremony,
0:47:04 > 0:47:07the President gets up, goes to the front row,
0:47:07 > 0:47:09shakes all the sponsors' hands.
0:47:09 > 0:47:13He sees me, he reaches across, "Hey, Bart!" "Hello, Mr President."
0:47:13 > 0:47:15And he says, you know, "We got to talk."
0:47:15 > 0:47:18I said, "Just give me my amendment, we'll get this bill done."
0:47:18 > 0:47:20He said, "That ain't going to happen."
0:47:20 > 0:47:22I said, "Then we probably don't have a bill, Mr President."
0:47:22 > 0:47:24He said, "We'll talk."
0:47:24 > 0:47:26Then they say, "Hey, Rahm wants to talk to you."
0:47:29 > 0:47:32So, I said, "Bart, what if we did the executive order?
0:47:32 > 0:47:38"We'd meet your objectives and allow you a path toward the President's."
0:47:38 > 0:47:42At the end of the day he said, you know, there's two couches that
0:47:42 > 0:47:46face each other, coffee table and a fireplace, and the Chief Of Staff.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49We sat across and worked out... I mean, two non-lawyers,
0:47:49 > 0:47:51we worked out the language around the executive order
0:47:51 > 0:47:54and I had the lawyers work with his team and draft it.
0:47:56 > 0:47:57Stupak agreed.
0:47:57 > 0:48:02As they finalised the executive order, Cardinal George phoned.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09The conversation with Stupak was to encourage him, to ask him to be sure
0:48:09 > 0:48:15to hold fast along with the very few pro-life Democrats that he had.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18If I do what Cardinal George wanted, in other words,
0:48:18 > 0:48:20at the end what he was encouraging me to do
0:48:20 > 0:48:23was to vote totally against health care
0:48:23 > 0:48:26because it did not have the Stupak amendment in there.
0:48:26 > 0:48:28Now, if I stick my head in the sand and say,
0:48:28 > 0:48:31"You will not get my vote, or the vote of my little coalition
0:48:31 > 0:48:34"unless I get what I want," and they don't give it to me,
0:48:34 > 0:48:37and the whole bill goes down, what do I have?
0:48:37 > 0:48:40I have nothing, I have no health care,
0:48:40 > 0:48:42I have no protections for life.
0:48:44 > 0:48:47Obama had hoped to pass health care in six months.
0:48:47 > 0:48:51Now, a year after he started, they were going to the final vote.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54- How's it going, guys? - Are you going to get the votes, sir?
0:48:54 > 0:48:56We are going to get this done.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00Every vote's going to count because, when it's all said and done,
0:49:00 > 0:49:02this is going to be a very, very close vote.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05You used the word Armageddon, what did you mean by that?
0:49:05 > 0:49:09This health care bill will ruin our country.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11It's time to stop them. Got to vote.
0:49:11 > 0:49:15CHEERING
0:49:18 > 0:49:23- THEY CHANT:- Kill the bill! Kill the bill! Kill the bill! Kill the bill!
0:49:40 > 0:49:43Madam Speaker, are you ready to announce the verdict? 216.
0:49:43 > 0:49:45Do you have 216, Madam Speaker?
0:49:50 > 0:49:54A lot of us were in the Roosevelt Room, watching it.
0:49:54 > 0:49:56Rahm and I had a side bet about a couple of members,
0:49:56 > 0:49:58whether we'd get them or not.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04On this vote, the yeas are 220,
0:50:04 > 0:50:06the nays are 211.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08The bill is passed.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19It was one of those moments that you...
0:50:19 > 0:50:22that reminds you of why you got into politics in the first place.
0:50:24 > 0:50:26When we work in government, every day is history.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31Whatever the bill is, that becomes part of history.
0:50:31 > 0:50:33I think of it as little history and big history,
0:50:33 > 0:50:36and that night, as we were passing health care reform,
0:50:36 > 0:50:38that was big history.
0:50:40 > 0:50:44I had a bunch of my staff up here to the White House residence
0:50:44 > 0:50:49and we went up on the Truman Balcony and toasted
0:50:49 > 0:50:52all these 25-year-olds and, you know,
0:50:52 > 0:50:55a bunch of people who had worked so hard.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00Michelle and his daughters were away at the time so the guys
0:51:00 > 0:51:05had the run of the apartment and decided to have a frat house party.
0:51:06 > 0:51:10It was a very casual party. One of my favourite pictures,
0:51:10 > 0:51:13and I'm sure the President probably didn't put this one out,
0:51:13 > 0:51:15but he's holding a martini - probably why he didn't put it out -
0:51:15 > 0:51:20but just the smile on his face is just, you can tell
0:51:20 > 0:51:24it was just the best moment of his life.
0:51:24 > 0:51:27Other than his marriage, I don't know that I've ever seen him quite
0:51:27 > 0:51:31that happy, and so I asked him, in the wee hours of the morning,
0:51:31 > 0:51:34how he felt that night, compared to election night.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38The most gratifying moment that I've had in public life.
0:51:38 > 0:51:44More than my election as President, because you run
0:51:44 > 0:51:47and hopefully win elected office,
0:51:47 > 0:51:50not just for the sake of being something,
0:51:50 > 0:51:52but for the sake of doing something.
0:51:52 > 0:51:56He was calling around to thank people that had tried to be helpful.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58Very gracious of him.
0:51:59 > 0:52:04I was in Paris and I inadvertently
0:52:04 > 0:52:08let the President of the United States' call go to my voicemail.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10You know, you listen to your voice messages and it's the
0:52:10 > 0:52:13President of the United States and you think,
0:52:13 > 0:52:16"Oh, Lord, what did I do?"
0:52:16 > 0:52:19APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:52:29 > 0:52:31At the signing ceremony,
0:52:31 > 0:52:34Obama's Vice President couldn't contain himself.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42Thank you. Thank you, everybody.
0:52:42 > 0:52:44I felt numb.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47It was... It was...
0:52:49 > 0:52:55By then, I was starting to understand
0:52:55 > 0:52:58how...
0:52:58 > 0:53:01hard this was going to be for the President,
0:53:01 > 0:53:06having achieved something of this landmark nature,
0:53:06 > 0:53:09that it was very polarising too.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17# O, say, can you see
0:53:17 > 0:53:20# By the dawn's early... #
0:53:20 > 0:53:24Even now, Obama's opponents refused to accept defeat.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27The only way to repeal ObamaCare
0:53:27 > 0:53:29would be to take control of Congress.
0:53:29 > 0:53:33Tea Party activists, who started by attending rallies,
0:53:33 > 0:53:37now stood as candidates in the approaching mid-term elections.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39Hi, this is Governor Sarah Palin,
0:53:39 > 0:53:43I'm urging you to vote Renee Ellmers for Congress.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45Renee will vote to repeal ObamaCare.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49I'm not a politician, I became a candidate because, as a nurse,
0:53:49 > 0:53:52I'm concerned about what the Obama administration
0:53:52 > 0:53:55and Bob Etheridge were doing to our health care system.
0:53:55 > 0:53:58He'll work to repeal ObamaCare, cut spending
0:53:58 > 0:54:00and slash the deficit.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03Labrador will stand up to Obama and Pelosi.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05Up the revolution!
0:54:05 > 0:54:07Up the Tea Party!
0:54:07 > 0:54:11Ladies and gentlemen, Sarah Palin!
0:54:11 > 0:54:16We must not fundamentally transform America as some would want.
0:54:16 > 0:54:20We must restore America and restore her honour.
0:54:20 > 0:54:22CHEERING
0:54:24 > 0:54:31# And the home of the brave. #
0:54:39 > 0:54:43During the mid-term campaign, Sarah Palin posted a map of the US,
0:54:43 > 0:54:47with crosshairs over the districts of vulnerable Democrats
0:54:47 > 0:54:49who had voted for health care.
0:54:51 > 0:54:53One was Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58We're on Sarah Palin's targeted list,
0:54:58 > 0:55:00but the thing is that the way that she has it depicted has
0:55:00 > 0:55:03the crosshairs of a gunsight over our district,
0:55:03 > 0:55:05and when people do that they've got to realise
0:55:05 > 0:55:07there's consequences to that action.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12Another congressman targeted by Palin was Tom Perriello.
0:55:13 > 0:55:17Make sure you get out and vote on Tuesday for one of the best
0:55:17 > 0:55:21congressmen Virginia's ever had, Tom Perriello.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23Loyal Democrats were vulnerable.
0:55:23 > 0:55:25Unemployment was high
0:55:25 > 0:55:28and ObamaCare wouldn't be fully implemented for years.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31There were members who came up to me after we all lost and said,
0:55:31 > 0:55:33"Well, if I'd known that we were all going to lose
0:55:33 > 0:55:35"I would've voted more like you."
0:55:35 > 0:55:38I wanted to vote for what I thought was right
0:55:38 > 0:55:41and losing an election is just not the end of the world.
0:55:41 > 0:55:46We have a big story to report tonight. At the top of this hour,
0:55:46 > 0:55:51NBC news is projecting that Republicans have won control
0:55:51 > 0:55:54of the House of Representatives.
0:55:54 > 0:55:56Further, we are projecting that...
0:55:57 > 0:56:00Obama's only consolation was that the Republicans hadn't won
0:56:00 > 0:56:03enough Senate seats to repeal health care.
0:56:03 > 0:56:07But he had suffered a devastating defeat in the House.
0:56:07 > 0:56:11He had lost more seats than any president since 1938,
0:56:11 > 0:56:14and the Tea Party now had 60 Republican members.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19There were a lot of individual Members of Congress who ended up
0:56:19 > 0:56:22voting for this bill and losing their seats, in part because
0:56:22 > 0:56:29they were characterised as having supported ObamaCare.
0:56:38 > 0:56:42The next day on Capitol Hill,
0:56:42 > 0:56:46it looked like a neutron bomb went off.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50Nobody spoke.
0:56:50 > 0:56:54People were walking down the halls like, "Wow, she lost."
0:56:54 > 0:56:56"Hey, he's gone."
0:56:56 > 0:56:59Who do you think's going to get her office?
0:56:59 > 0:57:01Everyone...
0:57:01 > 0:57:04It was total shock.
0:57:05 > 0:57:09Barack Obama was supposed to have changed America as we know it.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15Because the process was so messy,
0:57:15 > 0:57:20you know, the legislation wasn't as elegant as you would have liked.
0:57:20 > 0:57:24Even if it's not perfect, then over time
0:57:24 > 0:57:26we'll be able to look back 20 years from now
0:57:26 > 0:57:29and I think feel great satisfaction about what we accomplished.
0:57:31 > 0:57:36I now pass this gavel, which is larger than most gavels here,
0:57:36 > 0:57:39but the gavel of choice of Mr Speaker Boehner,
0:57:39 > 0:57:41I now pass this...
0:57:41 > 0:57:43LAUGHTER
0:57:45 > 0:57:48..I now pass this gavel
0:57:48 > 0:57:52and the sacred trust that goes with it to the new Speaker.
0:57:52 > 0:57:56- God bless you, Speaker Boehner. - CHEERING
0:58:04 > 0:58:08Three days later, Gabby Giffords was shot in the head
0:58:08 > 0:58:12at her town hall meeting and lost the power of speech.
0:58:12 > 0:58:13Six others were killed.
0:58:15 > 0:58:18For the remainder of his presidency,
0:58:18 > 0:58:21Obama would not regain a majority in Congress.
0:58:21 > 0:58:24The Republicans would block all his other major reforms.
0:58:24 > 0:58:28They'd make over 60 attempts to repeal ObamaCare.
0:58:34 > 0:58:37In next week's programme, how Obama went to war...
0:58:37 > 0:58:40I turned to the President and said, "Can I just finish the two wars
0:58:40 > 0:58:44"that I'm already in before you go looking for a third one?"
0:58:44 > 0:58:48..and launched a secret bid to prevent conflict with Iran.
0:58:48 > 0:58:51The President took us aside and said he trusted us
0:58:51 > 0:58:53and basically, don't screw it up.