Obama Takes On Health Care Detractors
In this weekend's YouTube address, President Obama said that the current health care proposals would help small businesses that are currently being crushed by the rising costs of health insurance. And he went beyond that, taking on his critics as being politically motivated:

"Some have even suggested that, regardless of its merits, health care reform should be stopped as a way to inflict political damage on my Administration.," said Obama, an apparent reference to Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC). "I'll leave it to them to explain that to the American people. What I'm concerned about is the damage that's being done right now to the health of our families, the success of our businesses, and the long-term fiscal stability of our government."

GOP Address: Dem Plan Will Force People Off Their Current Health Coverage
In this week's Republican YouTube, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) attacked the Democrats' health care proposals, using the recent Congressional Budget Office reports as a main weapon:

"According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the Democrats' proposal will drive health care costs higher than ever," said McMorris Rodgers. "The agency also warns that millions will be forced off their current coverage under the Democrats' plan, even though they continue making the discredited claim that if you like your plan, you can keep it."

No Obama Or Biden Events
President Obama is spending the weekend in Washington, D.C., Vice President Biden is in Wilmington, Delaware. They do not have any scheduled public events.

Palin: "I Will Take The Battle Nationally"
Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) told the Washington Post, ahead of her resignation from office tomorrow, that she will stay in the political arena: "I will take the battle nationally and I won't shy away from challenging the powerful, the entrenched, the corrupt and anyone standing in the way of getting our country back on the right track."

Steele: Dem Plans Will Make Schiavo Case "Look Like A Walk In The Park"
RNC chairman made an interesting comment yesterday about the Democratic health care proposals, warning against socialist control of people's medical decisions: "It'll make the Terri Schiavo case look like a walk in the park." The peculiar thing here is that he's using the Schiavo case as an example of a bad thing, when in fact Republicans pushed for government intervention and many liberals opposed it in that case.

WaPo: Hospital Lobbyists Try To Minimize Damage
The Washington Post reports that the hospital industry has stepped up its lobbying efforts in the health care debate, especially in opposition to the public option and to an independent agency to set Medicare rates. "We are very much interested at being at the table and are very pleased that we have been included," said Richard Umbdenstock, head of the American Hospital Association. "But there are certain issues that are very serious and grave concerns for us."

Corzine Picks Reformist Dem For Lieutenant Governor
Gov. Jon Corzine (D-NJ) has selected state Sen. Loretta Weinberg to be his running mate in this year's election. Weinberg is a progressive who has a history of championing political reform and taking on the party machinery -- which could be a plus in light of the recent federal raid against politicians of both parties, which included a member of Corzine's administration who has now resigned.

Gates Accepts Invitation To Have Beer With Obama And Policeman
Prof. Henry Louis Gates has accepted President Obama's invitation to come to the White House to have a beer with Cambridge Sgt. James Crowley, the officer who arrested him. "If my experience leads to the lessening of the occurrence of racial profiling, then I would find that enormously gratifying," said Gates. "Because, in the end, this is not about me at all; it is about the creation of a society in which 'equal justice before law' is a lived reality."