“We will get in a rocket and fly around the moon if that is what it takes to get everybody together and get an agreement.”
— White House press secretary Robert Gibbs on President Obama’s proposed health-care reforms. While Gibbs opted for sarcasm, the President took the philosophical route, recalling landmark social reforms. “These struggles always boil down to a contest between hope and fear,” he said. “That was true in the debate over Social Security, when F.D.R. was accused of being a socialist. That was true when J.F.K. and Lyndon Johnson tried to pass Medicare. And it’s true in this debate today.” My take? It’s just the first episode of a new reality show: “Extreme Makeover, Government Edition.” —Jessica Shambora