While Attacking GOP on Medicare, Obama Downplays His Own Plans

Somebody has to tackle that beast, eventually

President Barack Obama wanted to make the differences with his GOP opponents crystal clear at a rally in senior-heavy Melbourne, Fla., earlier this month.

"Here's the bottom line," Obama said: "Their voucher plan for Medicare would bankrupt Medicare. Our plan strengthens Medicare. No American should have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies."

The president better hope his audience hadn't thumbed through Bob Woodward's latest book.

As Woodward explains in "The Price of Politics," Obama was willing to make significant changes to the cherished federal health care plan for seniors last year as part of a grand bargain with congressional Republicans.