Is Obama healthcare reform strategy DOA?

A line from The Washington Post's story on Obama's healthcare reform proposal had me feeling deja vu:

"The health reform proposal, for example, "is the starting point of a conversation with Congress," the official said. "We're not going to go to Congress and say, 'Here's the plan.' We're starting a conversation and saying, 'This is what we want to get done.' "

This sounds a bit like the strategy that tripped Obama up in the debate over the stimulus package. Obama delegated the details of much of the bill to congressional Democrats, who inserted spending proposals that became easy targets for Republicans. Remember the $200 million for the National Mall refurbishment that the Republicans mercilessly whacked around? The line of argument was effective at sowing doubts about the package and was one of the reasons Obama headed back out on the road to sell the stimulus in campaign-style appearances. It seems Obama might have avoided some of these headaches by taking more control over drafting the bill.

I'm not an expert on healthcare reform, but is Obama setting himself up for more turbulence by deferring to Congress so much again on healthcare reform? Obviously, healthcare reform is an entirely different beast and Obama has showed a remarkable ability to learn from earlier mistakes. One of the criticisms of Clinton's failed reform was that the administration too tightly controlled the effort. I imagine Obama administration has that in mind. Healthcare reform also needs substantial bipartisan buy-in -- that can't come without significant input from folks across the political spectrum.

One thing to keep in mind also is that Obama is already facing major challenges to his efforts on healthcare. Daschle's withdrawal was a major blow. Daschle was widely seen as one of the few people that had the political skills and healthcare reform know-how to lead the charge on a bill. In addition, Ted Kennedy, who would shepherd the bill in Congress, is suffering from brain cancer.