Hotline After Dark -- So Fresh And So Clean, Clean

"World News," "Evening News" and "Nightly News" each led with Akio Toyoda's Cong. testimony.

WH sr. adviser Valerie Jarrett entered the "Situation Room" to discuss the summit 2/24 p.m.

Jarrett, on why govs. weren't invited to today's health care summit: "The governors of the United States were in town over the weekend and the president had an hour, hour-and-a-half meeting with them on Monday, a very robust meeting. Health care was front and center on the topic and so I think we've had an opportunity to hear from them this week. We have been working with them throughout this process. They've been integrally involved."

Jarrett, on how much flexibility there is in the WH plan: "I think that the president said very clearly he is open for all new, good, fresh ideas."

Jarrett, on whether the public option is dead: "I can't say it's dead. I think the president has said from the beginning that he thought it was important. Clearly the votes aren't there right this minute to support a public option but he thought it was important because it would help provide competition and bring down costs."

After the jump, more on the summit, as well as discussion of reconciliation.

Jarrett, on whether reconciliation is on the table: "I think that what the American people want is an up-and-down vote on health care. ... I don't want to really talk about procedure and all of that stuff. Let's really focus on tomorrow. ... We will have an honest debate about the proposal that the president put on the table and then let's cross the bridge of what comes next after tomorrow" (CNN, 2/24).

ACT NOW, OR FOREVER HOLD YOUR PIECE

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) went on the "Rachel Maddow Show" 2/24 p.m.

Boxer, on GOP opposition to the use of reconciliation: "I thought the best case for reconciliation was made by Republican Senator Judd Gregg, who said, 'Colleagues, this is a rule of the Senate. It's the way we do business.' ... Way back when I talked about how many times the Republicans use it, I was wrong. They actually used it 16 times out of 22 times that it's been done since 1980. ... To my Republican friends, you can have your opinion, but you cannot change these facts, because they're in the congressional record. It's important."

More Boxer, on her support for reconciliation: "All this is about is utilizing the rules of the Senate, using the majority of the senators to make sure that we get health reform done. We cannot wait another day. ... I'm glad the president has invited everybody over
tomorrow. I think it's a good thing. And then we'll act. We have to" (MSNBC, 2/24).

NO EXCUSES

Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) discussed reconciliation on "On the Record" 2/24 p.m.

Gregg, on reconciliation: "This is a railroading of the system. It's basically saying no amendments, 20 hours of debate, we're going to pass the most significant piece of public policy in my life experience, which is a massive rewrite of our health care system with a huge expansion of the federal government, a huge intrusion of the federal government into the private sector. A lot of people will lose their private insurance and be forced onto these exchanges."

FNC's Van Susteren: "One of the things that I've heard is the Democrats say, Well, the Republicans have done it before, and the Republicans say the Democrats have done it before. On the issue of reconciliation, have the Republicans done anything remotely similar? Not that that should necessarily be an excuse to change procedures now. But is your party guilty of doing that, sort of shoving it down someone's throat in an area that shouldn't be subject to reconciliation?"

Gregg: "No. Not in my opinion. Reconciliation, in my experience, has been used three times, and twice it was done in a bipartisan way. And once it was done on tax reductions that President Bush put in place. But you've got to remember that's adjusting rates, you know? And adjusting rates is a fairly clean event, as far as the policy involved and as far as what the issues are. The language is very simple. 'I'm going to raise this rate, I'm going to lower that rate.'"

More Gregg: "We're talking now about changing the entire way that health care is delivered in this country. We're talking about taking the federal government and growing it from 20 percent of the economy to 25, 26 percent of the economy. We're talking about changing the way that you and your doctor interact and you and your hospital treats you. These are huge public policy issues which really are way outside the reconciliation concept because they need debate. They need discussion. And they need to be subject to amendments on the floor of the Senate in order to do them correctly, or at least to have a proper airing of them and a fair treatment of them" (FNC, 2/24).