“The summit is considered a last, best attempt to revive Obama’s yearlong health overhaul quest, now stalled after Democrats lost their filibuster-proof Senate majority.

“Yet since Obama proposed the summit last weekend, Republicans and Democrats have voiced skepticism. Some in the GOP wondered if it would be nothing but a spectacle that could benefit the president at their expense. Democrats viewed Republicans’ insistence that Obama trash existing bills and start over as evidence they weren’t sincere about bipartisanship. “