Story Created: Mar 4, 2010 at 4:48 PM MDT
Story Updated: Mar 4, 2010 at 5:39 PM MDT
And we just had to ask: what does she find more puzzling, the crossword, or the health care debate in Washington?
"Oh, I'll take health care," she said with a laugh.
And in a political free-for-all with a vocabulary of its own, another word takes center stage -- "reconciliation", a procedure Democrats can use that requires only a simple majority vote in the Senate and prevents a filibuster.
After a year of debate, President Obama is now proposing a mix of the health care bill that passed the Senate and a handful of Republican ideas .
Republicans want to start all over again but the president insists on a health care decision now. And talking to people locally we found a lot of concern, much frustration and a deep desire for change.
"The system is so bad, that regular folks like me, who are not getting health insurance through an employer are getting screwed over," said Bayard Gregory of Boise. " My premiums have increased, what, 150 percent in the last six years."
"Sure, I think something can be accomplished, and yes, it's frustrating," said Sharon Gregory. "But it's a big complex issue, and it can't be spelled out in five pages, or done in three months."
"It is frustrating not to see more progressive movement in this debate," said Derek Rostock, who works as a registered nurse at a Boise hospital. "If nothing is done, I think there will be serious consequences for the economy, and the health of people."
And the president wants a final bill on his desk...in weeks.
Rank-and-file Democrats in Congress remain wary of health care legislation in spite of President Obama's closing argument for overhauling the system, well aware that success is far from assured and political perils abound.
"I think he has succeeded in prying open a window of opportunity, but it's a very narrow window," said first-term Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. "And he and the leadership here had better clamber through that narrow window while they can."
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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