I was not alone yesterday in thinking that Obama should push for some progress on health care reform immediately, but the sentiment wasn't universal.  Here (via Mark Thoma) is what some of his advisers are saying:

"It would be very difficult to come in and say, 'That agenda I've been pursuing for a year and a half? Never mind it,' " Jared Bernstein of the liberal Economic Policy Institute said during an interview with The Times last week.

But Bernstein, a key Obama economic advisor, acknowledged that some economic issues may have to be addressed with greater urgency to provide a foundation for others.

"We can't tackle healthcare until we get the economy working," he said. "If the economy is weak, how can you make good on the promises you made?"

I read with some interest this piece by Jeff Sachs in Slate, "What Obama Needs To Do."  I think there will be a lot of columns like this, so let me add to their number.  The thrust of Sachs' advice is this:

In sum, the recipes since 1981 of small government and small-bore solutions are passé and dangerous for our very survival in the United States and on this planet. While Reagan was crudely ideological, Clinton mildly reformist, and Bush simply crude in the application of these small-government doctrines, none of the recent approaches will do. It's time to stop talking about who can give away more to the public in rebates and start talking about investing in our future in a way that can save the poor, sustain the rest, and build a decent world for our children. Those are the real family values.

This morning, Fed Chair Ben Bernanke spoke on health care at the Senate Finance Committee Health Reform Summit.  His prepared remarks cited the extraordinary growth of health care spending as unsustainable, but he cautioned against harming innovation amidst the efforts to curtail health care costs.