Obama Rallies Supporters on Health Care

CINCINNATI — President Obama delivered a rousing campaign-style pitch on Monday for his proposed health care overhaul, telling thousands of cheering union workers at a Labor Day picnic here that Congress should stop debating because “it’s time to act and get this done.”Mr. Obama’s appearance here, at an A.F.L.-C.I.O. Labor Day picnic in an amusement park called Coney Island, was his kickoff to what will be a make-or-break week for health care. He will meet Congressional leaders on Tuesday and deliver a speech to Congress on Wednesday in an effort to reclaim momentum after a dismal August, where some Congressional forums deteriorated into shouting matches over his plan.

“I’ve got a question for all those folks who say we’re going to pull the plug on Grandma,” Mr. Obama thundered, reprising a phrase his critics used against him. “What’s your answer? What’s your solution? And you know what? They don’t have one. Their answer is to do nothing.”

Mr. Obama tried to counter in August with his own public meetings, where he took questions from supporters and critics alike. Unlike those events, Monday’s picnic, where tickets were handed out by union officials, featured a crowd so enthusiastic it gave the president’s helicopters a standing ovation. When he arrived, Mr. Obama jogged onto the stage with his shirtsleeves rolled up, looking and sounding every bit the political candidate.

The president even resurrected a stemwinder from the campaign trail, about a visit to Greenwood, S.C., where he adopted the campaign slogan “Fired Up! Ready to Go!” Then, he led the crowd in the chant — a spontaneous moment, his press secretary, Robert Gibbs, later said.

As he tries to resurrect his health proposal, Mr. Obama has been under intense pressure from Congressional leaders to lay out specifically what he wants. Aides said he will do so in the speech on Wednesday.

Mr. Obama did not offer details on Monday — “I want you all to tune in,” he told the crowd — but he did give a few hints of what is to come. Although the White House has debated whether to compromise on the public option, a government-sponsored plan that would compete with the private sector, Mr. Obama said once again that he would like to see one, as part of a health insurance exchange where people could buy plans in a competitive marketplace.

“I continue to believe that a public option within that basket of insurance choices would help improve quality and bring down costs,” Mr. Obama said.

That line went over big with his union audience; organized labor has been strongly supportive of the public option. The incoming A.F.L.-C.I.O. president, Richard L. Trumka, created an uproar last week when he said unions would not back a health insurance bill without one.

Mr. Obama also had a message for Congress, where four committees — three in the House and one in the Senate — have already passed health legislation, and a fifth, the Senate Finance Committee, is hoping to do so soon.

“The Congress and the country have now been vigorously debating the issue for many months,” Mr. Obama said. “And debate is good, because we have to get this right. But every debate at some point comes to an end. At some point it’s time to decide, at some point it’s time to act. Ohio, it’s time to act and get this done.”