SNAP ANALYSIS: Obama urges action on healthcare

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that it is time to set aside political bickering and approve a healthcare overhaul.

Here is an analytical look at how Obama's speech unfolded:

* "Our collective failure to meet this challenge -- year after year, decade after decade -- has led us to a breaking point. Everyone understands the extraordinary hardships that are placed on the uninsured, who live every day just one accident or illness away from bankruptcy. These are not primarily people on welfare. These are middle-class Americans."

Obama is trying to create a sense of crisis on the need to revamp the healthcare system to persuade uneasy Americans that now is the time to take on the issue.

* "Instead of honest debate, we have seen scare tactics. Some have dug into unyielding ideological camps that offer no hope of compromise. Too many have used this as an opportunity to score short-term political points, even if it robs the country of our opportunity to solve a long-term challenge. And out of this blizzard of charges and counter-charges, confusion has reigned."

Obama is blaming Republicans for the healthcare standoff in the Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress, although internal Democratic divisions over the size and cost of healthcare legislation has held up action. He also appeared to be responding to a CBS News poll from last week that said Americans were confused as to what Obama was proposing.

* "Well the time for bickering is over. The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action. Now is when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together, and show the American people that we can still do what we were sent here to do. Now is the time to deliver on health care."

The president is trying to call an end to a fractious debate that raged throughout the summer and caused Americans to have doubts about his handling of healthcare.

* "And it's a plan that incorporates ideas from senators and congressmen; from Democrats and Republicans -- and yes, from some of my opponents in both the primary and general election."

The president wants to portray himself as a centrist, placing himself between liberals and conservatives and arguing that he will deliver the best of both sides. Obama's critics see him as leaning toward the left on healthcare.

* "While there remain some significant details to be ironed out, I believe a broad consensus exists for the aspects of the plan I just outlined: consumer protections for those with insurance, an exchange that allows individuals and small businesses to purchase affordable coverage, and a requirement that people who can afford insurance get insurance."

The White House insists that there is about 80 percent agreement on healthcare in Congress.

* "The best example is the claim, made not just by radio and cable talk show hosts, but prominent politicians, that we plan to set up panels of bureaucrats with the power to kill off senior citizens. Such a charge would be laughable if it weren't so cynical and irresponsible. It is a lie, plain and simple."

A legislative provision that would allow physicians to have end-of-life discussions with the elderly generated talk of "death panels," and is likely to be dropped from any final bill.

* "It's worth noting that a strong majority of Americans still favor a public insurance option of the sort I've proposed tonight. But its impact shouldn't be exaggerated -- by the left, the right, or the media. It is only one part of my plan, and should not be used as a handy excuse for the usual Washington ideological battles."

While only one part of his plan, a public insurance option still remains a subject of deep debate and some key Democratic senators do not believe it will survive the Senate.

* "I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it's better politics to kill this plan than improve it. I will not stand by while the special interests use the same old tactics to keep things exactly the way they are. If you misrepresent what's in the plan, we will call you out. And I will not accept the status quo as a solution. Not this time. Not now."

This could be a veiled warning that he will push a plan through Congress with or without Republican support. Some Democrats have talked about resorting to procedural tactics to gain passage of the plan in the Senate by a simple majority.

(Reporting by Steve Holland, editing by Anthony Boadle)