Stagecraft
In public, the Republicans have been dismissing the health care summit as meaningless. But if you want an indication of how seriously they are actually taking it, consider how much attention they are giving to the smallest details.
First, there was the question of a podium. They insisted that there not be one. "We don't want any more of that Professor Obama lecturing to us," a GOP staffer told Politico. And though the White House originally proposed a U-shaped table, the two sides ultimately settled on a hollow, rectangular shape. Why? Because then there would be no head position.
Still, the location in what is known as the Garden Room of Blair House is hardly ideal for an event that is being billed as a session of serious policymaking. The room is small, the acoustics are iffy, and the President will have to enter from a kitchen. Mirrors will be removed from the walls so that viewers won't be blinded by the glare of television lights. However, no one figured out what to do with the piano that normally sits in the room, so it will stay. But then, who knows? You never can tell when someone might propose a round of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow."