This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 5, 2009 - At the invitation of President Barack Obama, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, had a choice seat this afternoon in the White House's State Dining Room.
She was among dozens of participants in Obama's White House Forum on Health Reform.
But Emerson was among only a few singled out for special treatment During Obama's televised remarks, Emerson was among the legislators who he called upon for brief comments.
She thanked the president for "your passion on this issue,'' and noted that her southeast Missouri district had lots of people who are poor and uninsured. Emerson called on all officials in both parties to be "willing to give a little'' to make health care reform become a reality.
Obama, in turn, praised Emerson for her commitment. (He also called her by her first name, a traditional presidential "shout out.")
Emerson's presence in the healthcare spotlight makes sense, since she's among a small group of House Republicans who have sided at times with the Democrats on health-care approaches.
Besides her TV moment, Emerson was assigned to the only "breakout group'' meeting in the White House before Obama's opening remarks.
All five of the breakout sessions feature legislators and representatives of various business or health-care organizations.
To underscore the volatility of the health care issue, the advocacy group Center for American Progress issued today a state-by-state breakdown of the estimated average number of people losing health care coverage each day in December and January.
For Missouri, that daily number is 210. For Illinois, it's 270. (The group -- which is promoting expanding health-care coverage -- admits that it's numbers are ballpark figures, based in part on job-loss reports.)
Another Missouri Republican, U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Strafford and a candidate for the U.S. Senate, was part of the break out group meeting in the nearby Executive Office Building. But he got no TV time.
Regardless of what happens to Blunt's senatorial aspirations, it's clear that Emerson has the influence edge with the White House.
