Obama: Stop health care 'wild misrepresentations'

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — Hoping to blunt the momentum of critics, President Barack Obama went on the offensive in support of his health care plan, urging the country not to listen to those who seek to "scare and mislead the American people."

"For all the scare tactics out there, what is truly scary is if we do nothing," Obama told a friendly town hall audience.

Retooling his message amid sliding support, Obama poked at critics who he said were trying to "scare the heck out of folks." He said there should be a vigorous debate over health care, but "with each other, not over each other."

"Where we disagree, let's disagree over things that are real, not these wild misrepresentations that don't bear any resemblance to anything that's actually being proposed," Obama said, trying to wrest back control over a debate at the core of his political agenda.

Addressing a town hall in New Hampshire, Obama also flayed the insurance industry in an attempt to attract a vital - and skeptical - audience: the tens of millions of people who already have health insurance and are just fine with the care they get.

He said the overhaul is essential to them, too, contending it is the way to keep control in their hands.

"Your health insurance will be there for you when it counts, not just when you're paying premiums," Obama said to applause at a local high school.

Obama said "after all the chatter and shouting and the noise," Americans will soon have more and cheaper options for health care.

"I don't think government bureaucrats should be meddling. But I also don't think insurance company bureaucrats should be meddling," he said.