Healthcare summit: a blast from the past

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President Obama didn’t control the guest list. If he had, would he have invited his former presidential campaign opponent, Sen. John McCain?

Likely not, especially given the exchange that just occurred. Ignoring Obama’s repeated admonition to focus on substantive policy, McCain blasted the legislative process by which the House and Senate bills involved deals with industry and individual senators, suggesting that the bills were entirely a product of backroom maneuvering.

The American people “want us to go back to the beginning,” the Arizona senator argued. “They want us to sit down together.” (But 2 1/2 hours into this, do they still want that?).

Obama’s rebuke was sharp and withering. “We’re not campaigning anymore. The election is over.” Shot back McCain: “I’m reminded of that every day.” (It wasn’t a joke.)

McCain exhibited a greater inclination to interrupt the president more than anyone else at the table, harkening back to their heated debates during the 2008 campaign. And Obama had no hesitation cutting McCain off in return, saying the bills had had “the most hearings, most debates on the floor, the longest markup in history...’

The president had the last word because he is, well, the president. “We can have a debate about process,” Obama said, “or we can have a debate about how we can help the American people at this point.”

-- James Oliphant