WASHINGTON — Peter R. Orszag, the White House official steeped in budget detail, is now so at home in the Capitol that he freely grabs Coke Zeros from the Senate Finance Committee's private stash when he talks healthcare costs with aides.
Nancy-Ann DeParle, who joined the administration after a career that included running Medicare, is routinely hooked into a nightly 9 o'clock conference call for legislative staff.
And nearly every week, presidential aide Jim Messina eats the same steak-and-fries plate at the same table in the same restaurant with his old boss, Sen. Max Baucus -- the man responsible for the centrist bill that will shape the final healthcare plan.
Months ago, when President Obama made healthcare his top domestic priority and picked the White House team to make it happen, he selected individuals for just this moment -- not for the beginning or the middle of the campaign, but for the end of the fight.
That time has arrived for Obama and for the six people he chose. With deep ties to Capitol Hill, the team is designed for the inside game unfolding now in House and Senate offices. Their job includes gathering intelligence, assessing what lawmakers want and devising compromises to win over balky members without alienating others.
But their paramount goal has been -- and remains -- to keep the process moving irrepressibly forward and on a practicable track. They believe that letting it bog down or veer in some damaging direction, even for a moment, could doom the whole effort.
The core group consists of Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, legislative affairs director Phil Schiliro, communications expert Dan Pfeiffer, Orszag, Messina and DeParle. Each brings particular experience and skills to the task. Each is first and foremost an inside player, comfortable operating behind the scenes.
The administration suffered some setbacks because of that focus during the spring and summer, when none of the six took on the role of a public surrogate for Obama.
But the White House survived the early pummeling, and the emphasis on the inside game has paid off more recently.
"The key factor in all major legislation, particularly healthcare, is momentum," Pfeiffer said. "Healthcare is a boulder: You're either pushing uphill or downhill. We've reached the top, we're headed downhill now, and we want it to stay that way."
