Obama health summit heals few divides

WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama's high-stakes health summit failed to break an impasse over his historic reform drive, prompting him to warn he would press on with or without Republican help.Civility largely prevailed at the grueling day-long meeting, after Obama warned against "political theater", but there was no breakthrough on sharp ideological disputes threatening to suffocate his ambitious presidency.The more than six hours of back-and-forth exchanges between top Republicans and Democrats -- compared by the sitting US president -- were unique in political history, and came after a poisoned year-long debate over health care.The president hinted at the talks at Blair House opposite the White House that he would seek to drive the massive reform bid through Congress even without Republican votes, which his foes flatly stated would not be forthcoming.Few analysts expected the meeting would yield major progress, and for both sides it was as much about political positioning and setting the terrain for mid-term congressional polls in November as finding compromise.But Obama said at the outset: "I hope that this isn't political theater, where we're just playing to the cameras and criticizing each other, but instead are actually trying to solve the problem."It was not immediately clear however if the move would buy Obama time to thrust his bill through Congress, or credit from voters for providing the bipartisan outreach they tell pollsters they crave.Obama challenged Republicans to drop obstruction tactics and back the latest version of his new 950-billion-dollar plan to cover 31 million uninsured Americans, cut abuses by the vast insurance industry and lower premiums.He cited possible deals between Democratic and Republican leaders on issues like medical malpractice, the insurance market and health care costs, but admitted that other gaps were so wide they may not be bridged.Facts:Main points of Obama health care plan"Is there enough serious effort, that in a month's time, or in a few weeks' time, or

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