the vote or he was ready to move on to other items on his agenda. >> i think we have to let obamacare go its way for a little while. see how things go. it's imploding and soon will explode. and it's not going to be pretty. >> reporter: the decision to call off the vote came after house speaker paul ryan left the capitol to visit the white house and deliver message in person to the president that republicans did not have the votes to pass the plan. sources tell cnn a key part of that closed-door conversation dealt with whether the president would take any responsibility for the disdecision to scrap the vote. as that meeting played out behind the scenes, the white house press secretary was publicly making the case to reporters that the president had done all he could to deliver a legislative victory. >> there's no question in my mind, at least, that the president and the team here have left everything on the field. >> reporter: part of the administration's last-minute push included dispatching mike