Obama Reponds to Critics on Health Care, Says He's 'Enthusiastic' About Reform Bill

In an interview with the Washington Post, President Obama answered critics who see the Democratic health care bill headed for a final vote in the Senate on Christmas Eve as a watered-down, toothless version of the president's original plan.

"Nowhere has there been a bigger gap between the perceptions of compromise and the realities of compromise than in the health-care bill," Obama said. "Every single criteria for reform I put forward is in this bill." He added that he is "not just grudgingly supporting the bill. I am very enthusiastic about what we have achieved."

The House and Senate versions of the legislation will be reconciled in conference committee next year, and there's one key difference: The House version has a government insurance option, and the Senate version does not. Either way, Obama says he will deliver what he promised. "I didn't campaign on the public option," he said.

"We don't feel that the core elements to help the American people have been compromised in any significant way. Do these pieces of legislation have exactly everything I want? Of course not. But they have the things that are necessary to reduce costs for businesses, families and the government."