President 'won't refight' health law debate

President Obama's new chief of staff defended the health care law Sunday, according to news outlets.

CBS News: Daley: Obama Won't Refight Health Care Battle
White House Chief of Staff William Daley told CBS this weekend that President Obama is open to tweaking the health care law - but that he would not "refight the entire fight" over reform. "The president has said he's open to changes to this," Daley told CBS' "Face the Nation," in his first television interview since joining the Obama administration (Madison, 1/30).

The Washington Post: William Daley Gives First Televised Interview, Addresses Health-Care Law Critique
But Daley did not go as far as to call the law "perfect," taking the opportunity to show that he was in line with the president in being open to changing the law (Kolawole, 1/30).

Roll Call: Daley Explains His Criticism of Health Care Law 
Daley sought to clarify Sunday his previous criticism of President Barack Obama's signature health care overhaul law as political, not policy, commentary. ... He told the New York Times last year that he thought the president and Democratic Congressional leaders "miscalculated on health care" (Starkey, 1/30).

USA Today: Daley: Obama Willing To Improve Health Care Law, Not Overhaul It
Daley, an executive with JPMorgan Chase before becoming chief of staff this month, revised the criticism of the health care law he himself made when he was in the business world. Daley said he had a problem with the politics surrounding the health care issue, rather than the bill itself. "I thought it was a very difficult climate to try to accomplish what they tried to," Daley said. "And I think the results, because of the misinterpretation of health care by many people, had a negative impact on Democrats" (Jackson, 1/30). 

The Hill: Democrats mount most aggressive fight yet to protect healthcare reform law
Democrats are mounting their most vigorous counter-offensive to date by highlighting the law's benefits for Americans and painting repeal proponents as stooges of the insurance industry. ... Part of the Democrats' defense will also play out in congressional hearings, where Republicans have vowed to grill administration officials about the law's costs. "Obviously, a part of our strategy will have to be to react and respond to what the aggressors will be doing," Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the House oversight committee's health subpanel, told The Hill. "But we will also keep focused on helping the American people really understand what it is they've got." (Pecquet, 1/29).