Balance of Power

If you thought President Obama's health care address to Congress reset the terms of the debate and increased prospects for bipartisan cooperation with Republicans in Congress, think again.

The president has a health care rally in Minneapolis Saturday, and our colleague Emily Cadei reports state Republicans are ready.

Rep. John Kline plans to offer a "prebuttal" to the president at a 10:30 a.m. press conference. And the Republican Party of Minnesota is spending $25,000 buy local TV ads urging the president to take time developing a common-sense health care reform plan, instead of rushing a partisan plan through the Congress.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama plans to use the rally to reiterate key points from Wednesday night's speech to a joint session of Congress. And there's more to come. The president will hold another health care rally on Sept. 17 at the University of Maryland in suburban College Park, Md. and is likely to discuss the issue at the AFL-CIO convention on Sept. 15 in Pittsburgh, and at a fundraiser for Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., that night in Philadelphia

Local TV stations who've lost money during the recession must be quietly hoping this debate will drag on.