At half-past noon, I was part of a line of reporters being led to the front door of the White House; it's a short walk from the press briefing room (continued from last week's entry). Directly in front of me was Chuck Todd, NBC News' chief White House correspondent and a familiar face on TV for many Americans during the 2008 election.
Once inside, we were escorted directly into the cavernous, elegantly furnished East Room, which is on the left side of the building. It's the largest room in the White House, with a tremendously high ceiling and creamy white walls. As the line of reporters shuffled inside, the East Room was already full of TV crews and photographers, with lighting equipment packed into one end of the room. We reporters stood along one wall; there were no seats for press, only risers for photographers and camera operators. It was extremely crowded and the photographers constantly shifted around, taking test shots and bumping into people. I found my back just inches from a massive, 1878 portrait of Martha Washington that ran halfway up the wall to the ceiling. A Secret Service agent motioned for me to keep clear of the painting's thick frame.
We stood, chatted and waited for the president and his guests to arrive. The guests were about 120 representatives from physician groups, patient groups, hospital associations, insurance corporations, and key members of Congress (click here to read the actual story).
As these various VIPs started taking their seats, a few of us started a conversation with Chuck Todd, who treated the healthcare reporters - many of whom were first-timers at the White House - as if we were seasoned pros. Finally, when the room was full, a voice announced loudly, "The president of the United States!" They didn't play "Hail to the Chief," presumably because we were in the White House. Obama was flanked by Melody Barnes, director of his domestic policy council, and a young firefighter named Travis Ulerick, who introduced him. I stood about 15 feet away from Obama as he stood at his lectern and started speaking.
In person, he sounds and looks exactly like he does on TV. In fact, it almost felt like I was watching him through a TV screen. Key players in Congress, including Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and his Republican counterpart, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, sat in a row of chairs alongside Obama, as you can see in the photos. These veteran legislators will provide much of the driving force behind health reform; Politico reports that Baucus, Grassley and others are members of the "Board of Directors," a bipartisan group of senators "who share long years of service and a belief that something must be done" on health reform.
The White House summit was a fantastic opportunity from a reporter's perspective; of course we're aware that the details of reform won't be as neat and harmonious as this largely symbolic event. Part B News will continue our routine coverage of Capitol Hill as Baucus and other players hash out a bill. The plan is to have a bill ready for review by June, Baucus said in a press release. We'll see if he and others in Congress can actually make this happen.