By Scott Hensley

If you saw one appearance by President Obama over the weekend, you might as well have seen them all. He put on his salesman-in-chief hat again and flogged a well-honed set of talking points, as the debate over plans for a health overhaul intensifies.

NPR's All Things Considered weekend host Guy Raz boiled down the president's interviews on five Sunday yak shows to about 2 1/2 minutes, if you want a recap.

If you're really lazy, allow us to summarize the summary for you: Eighty percent of what Obama wants in a health overhaul is in the bills already kicking around Capitol Hill; health premiums went up 5 1/2 percent last year, so we better do something--and fast; and, fear of change--not race--is fueling resistance to the plan.

The Washington Post's indefatigable Howard Kurtz reminded us the talk-show all-around Obama just pulled off is known inside the Beltway as the "Full Ginsburg," for the five-show circuit first completed by Monica Lewinsky's lawyer William Ginsburg back in 1999.

Tonight, Obama heads to "Late Night With David Letterman" where we imagine there will be a Top 10 List heavy on health punchlines. It will be Obama's first visit to show since being elected president but his sixth appearance overall. If you can't wait, there's a clip of Obama delivering a health-care-free Top 10 list on the show back in 2008.

If you'd like to see one of the video interviews aired over the weekend, here's one with CBS's Bob Schieffer.

categories: Health Overhaul

8:43 - September 21, 2009

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