President Obama has taken full control of the health care negotiations, casting himself for the first time in the role of mediator between the House and Senate during a 72-hour marathon of talks that have turned his White House into a de facto Congressional conference.
Mr. Obama spent more than six hours with Democratic leaders on Wednesday, slipping in and out of health care talks to coordinate a response to the earthquake in Haiti. He spent much of Thursday in health care talks, ducking out in the evening to address House Democrats and attend his daughter Malia’s band recital (she plays flute) and then returning to the negotiating table until 1 a.m., shortly before the group recessed for the night.
