Bill Clinton Warns, 'The Worst Thing We Can Do is Nothing'

President Bill Clinton, veteran of political battles galore, went to Capitol Hill Tuesday to share his hard-earned wisdom with the members of the Senate's Democratic caucus who will soon pick up where Clinton left off in his epic battle to pass health care reform. Now that the House has passed its bill, the Senate is poised to take up the issue for the first time since Clinton's health reform plans went down in flames in 1993.

The lunch menu was down-home fare, fit for a true Arkansan -- chicken pot pie, meat loaf, a fish which our spy could not identify, broccoli, green beans and rolls. The message from the ex-president was equally straight forward -- get something done on health care reform.

"The worst thing we can do is nothing," Clinton told a scrum of reporters following his lunch. "That was my argument on the economics and on health care."

Clinton said any bill will have flaws, but they can be corrected through amendments and subsequent legislation.

"So its not important to be perfect here," he said. "It's important to act, to move, to start the ball rolling, to claim the evident advantages that all these plans agree with. And whatever they can get the votes for, I'm going to support."

A Democratic staff member with notes from the senators-only meeting said that the ex-president stressed the policy justifications for reforming health care, as well as the pressing political need for Democrats to pass some version of the bill to claim a long-elusive accomplishment. "He said that if you don't win on health care, the Republicans will define it for you," the staffer reported, alluding to the rebranding of Clinton's health care bill as "Hillarycare."

Clinton stayed away from the most divisive issues ahead for senators, including federal funding for abortion, and instead stuck to broader themes -- namely, the importance of reining in the deficit, creating jobs and improving education, one of Clinton's signature issues in the White House.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said that Clinton reiterated that time is not on the Democrats' side as the calendar turns toward an election year. "There is a sense that the clock is ticking," Wyden said.

Clinton's Capitol visit apparantly came at the urging of Clinton White House veteran and current Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, as well as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who both felt the Senate Democrats could use a little inspiration and focus before wading into health care reform, possibly as early as next week.