Obama and bipartisanship - An idea

It was sad to see a key procedural vote on Health Bill being passed without a single republican vote. I was watching the live coverage on CNN. Both Democrats and Republicans had some very good points on the bill. In the meantime stats say one American dies every 10 minutes for lack of insurance. Why can't the senate form a consensus on such an urgent issue?

I remember Obama promising bipartisanship in his administration. He cited how he worked with republicans in Chicago to pass many bills. But those promises have taken a backseat since he became President. I am surprised on how naively he invited republicans to some dinners at White House, and expected them to become his fans! That's not how it works!! I totally agree that it is not an easy task to make your political opponents agree with you. But the lack of effort to win them over is what concerns me.

For example, we have not seen any overtures to Republican side to get their support. As per their interview even they admit health care system is broken. I would have loved to see Obama asking both Democrats and Republicans to table a bill on Health Care. Each with their take on how to fix the issue. This would have produced a common theme around which the bill could have been built. It would definitely had been more constructive way to go!