"Instead of paring his ambitions, as some in the White House had recommended, the president proposed a new plan based on what the Senate passed in December, adding more spending, more subsidies and a revised mix of taxes."

That from today's Wall Street Journal, as Obama hears a different message and goes for broke on health care.  I'm sure it is an appealing concept to some but the health legislation proposed to date virtually ignored the cost side of the equation - tort reform, defensive medicine, Medicare rules and unlimited subsidized supply?

Bob Laszewski offers his assessment at Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review:

"Fundamentally, what good would insurance rate regulation do if the President’s plan has only tepid cost containment built into it in the first place?

There are not the votes in the House right now to pass this new proposal—or the Senate bill. There are not likely even the votes in the Senate under a 51-vote rule for the President's new plan."

Politically, the President's move is interesting gamesmanship given the upcoming health care summit.  I freely admit, I am not a supporter of his plan.  Throughout the evolution of the reform proposals, the stated goals of increased access and lower cost were completely lost as more and more government pushed its way in to the plans.  But right now the administration is trying to convince fellow Democrats that something, anything is better than nothing - a sure prescription for bad policy.