President Barack Obama sought to rally Democratic lawmakers today after the loss of a crucial Senate seat, saying it must not weaken their resolve to pass healthcare and financial regulatory reforms, according to Reuters. "We've got to finish the job on healthcare. We've got to finish the job on financial regulatory reform," he told members of the Senate Democratic caucus in Washington, echoing similar comments he has made in the past week. Obama did not elaborate on how Democrats, who control both houses of Congress, could overcome the loss of a key 60th Senate seat in an election in Massachusetts last month that has stalled his legislative agenda. The S&P 500 index fell 0.7 percent, led by declines in healthcare and financial stocks, after Obama's comments. "Those two are very policy-sensitive sectors," said Jeff Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial in Boston. "Once again Washington (is) bearing down on the market." It was the first time Obama had spoken directly to members of the Democratic caucus since the Massachusetts defeat. With polls showing many Americans unhappy with Obama's handling of the economy and suspicious of his plans to overhaul the $2.5 trillion healthcare system, Democrats face difficult mid-term congressional elections in November. Many congressional Democrats are anxious to move past the healthcare debate and talk about job growth and fixing the economy because they fear the unpopularity of the healthcare bill could hurt them at the polls. The healthcare bill is now on the backburner as Democrats search for a strategy on how to proceed after the loss of the Massachusetts seat cost them effective control of the Senate.
