Obama Postpones Asian Trip to Focus on Health Care

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs announced Thursday that President Obama has again postponed his planned trip to Indonesia and Australia to continue his push to pass health care reform.

As Speaker Nancy Pelosi has struggled to secure the 216 votes needed to pass the bill in the House, the president has talked up the measure to the American public and has engaged in an all-out sales job to members of his own party on Capitol Hill, imploring them to vote yes for reform.

"The president greatly regrets the delay," Gibbs said. "But passage of health care reform is of paramount importance, and the president is determined to see this battle through."

Gibbs announced last week that the White House expected health care reform to pass the House by Thursday and predicted Sunday that the Democrats' proposal would be "the law of the land" before Obama left for Asia this weekend.

After initially pushing back his departure to accommodate delays in the House's progress on the bill, the White House said Thursday that Obama will reschedule the entire trip for June.