What's Best For The Patient?

Kennedy and Bush laughed, then began swapping family stories. Afterward, Kennedy told Simpson he and Bush would be "scrapping like I did against you, Al. But I'm not going to hurt this guy." Bush didn't plan to hurt Kennedy either. He later invited the Senator to a White House screening of Thirteen Days, the movie about J.F.K.'s handling of the Cuban missile crisis. Kennedy had talking points on legislation tucked into his pocket, but all Bush wanted to do was munch hot dogs and watch the film. "The President has a lot of respect for Senator Kennedy," says senior White House adviser Karen Hughes. "He thinks the Senator is very savvy, that he's a good legislator and that he's a person of his word."

During an Oval Office meeting in January, Bush said to Kennedy, "When you walk out of here, the press is going to try to divide us. Can we put that off to the side and work together?" Kennedy agreed--and then made good on the promise, refusing to be drawn into public discussions of their legislative differences. When reporters pointed out that Bush supports school vouchers while Kennedy loathes them, the Senator insisted there was "very broad agreement" between them. When the education bill passed on June 14, liberals were enraged by the Bush reforms Kennedy accepted, such as giving states more flexibility in spending federal money. Conservatives were just as angry that its $33 billion price tag was $14 billion more than Bush had wanted. Even some White House aides were nervous about how the two had cozied up. "I couldn't believe we were talking every day to Kennedy's staff," says one. "Ted Kennedy! We're supposed to hate everything he represents!" But Kennedy and Bush hailed the bill as a victory for bipartisanship. "I've enjoyed this working relationship," Kennedy told TIME.

He enjoyed it so much he was eager to do it again on his Patient Protection Act, which he introduced two weeks ago with Republican John McCain and North Carolina Democrat John Edwards. "We ought to do the same thing on this," he told Bush during a Capitol Hill lunch on March 15. Bush smiled but didn't commit. "We've gotten the cold shoulder," Kennedy later complained.

He shouldn't have been surprised. Bush, like Kennedy, wants more protections for patients, including more access to emergency rooms, specialty care and clinical trials. But he wants no part of provisions in the Kennedy bill that would allow aggrieved patients to sue HMOs in state court and win jury awards of up to $5 million. Conservative Republicans in Congress were appalled at the thought of a Kennedy-Bush compromise on the legislation, but they needn't have worried. Bush wasn't eager to strike any deal that would burnish the reputation of McCain, his bitter opponent in the Republican presidential primaries and still a rival today. So instead of supporting McCain-Edwards-Kennedy, Bush endorsed the more business-friendly measure sponsored by Senators John Breaux, Bill Frist and Jim Jeffords. So far, Kennedy's bill appears to have more support, though Republicans, led by minority leader Trent Lott, are introducing amendment after amendment meant to water down or even kill it.