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>> president barack obama and the republicans are trotting out competing messages on health care reform. caroline shively is standing by with some of the top stories today. hello, caroline. >> hey to you, brian. president obama is using the weekly address to try to convince wavering democrats to move forward with health care. he says there's no action, insurance companies will raise premiums. >> now, despite all the progress and improvements we've seen, republicans in congress insist the only course on health care is to start over. but you know what? the insurance companies aren't starting ove...

Steve centanni has the latest from washington. hi, steve. >> yeah, the pressure is on as the president said the democrats would seek an up or down vote on health care and repeated the call for action today and was met by a republican accusation that he's trying to quote, jam through health care. health care was the subject of the president's weekly radio and internet address as he continued trying to sell his plan to a skeptical public and to wavering democrats. he indicated once again that now is the time for-- because of skyrocketing premiums-- (inaudible). >> brian: despite the improvements...

But he is turning up the heat on the insurance industry. he's often slammed the insurance companies for raising rates and denying claims and now in his weekly radio address or radio or industry address he pointed to using them as part of the campaign for quick action, let's listen. >> i just met with some of them on thursday, and they couldn't give me a straight answer as to why they keep arbitrarily and massively raising premiums by as much as 60% in states like illinois. if we don't act, they will continue to do this. they'll continue to drop people's coverage when they need it. they'll cont...

Elections tomorrow, how significant are the elections, if they go well, that the government remains stable there and how different is that from the issues of stability of the government in afghanistan? >> well, remembering again that the iraqis are used to being run by a dictator, by a totalitarian regime, it's very hard for them to make this shift to this full and open democracy and we're going to have to again, jamie over time see how they adjust. once they're out of there, the thought of a military coup of precipitous action, a coup of some sort, i mean, i think the variations of what could...

Both a course of action that will be used by the democrats to try to win the fall election and also, what will be used against them both by the democrats and the republicans should they oppose the president's initiative. >> all right, doug, you're zeroing in on something, something that the president talked about today, he discussed the fact that the insurance companies gave him no sign as to why rates keep going up and he's fearful that if they do nothing, if they do nothing with any, anything resolving the health care situation, that these insurance companies will continue to raise more prem...