Watching the closing session of yesterday’s White House Health Care Summit was a heartening experience. President Obama, looking more like a facilitator than the boss, acknowledged the broad participation by reading comments from the breakout sessions, and then giving space to a few powerful stakeholder voices in the room.

The President’s (near perfect) restraint from responding, countering or redirecting the comments is noteworthy, especially considering he was “surrounded by men and women who made their careers killing health-care reform,” as described in today’s Washington Post.

Even more amazing were the voices. Representative Jo Ann Emerson (R-Missouri), who noted that many of her constituents are unable to afford care, said: “For us to be able to get together, all stakeholders…is critical, and I hope that all of us will be willing to take a fresh look.” Karen Ignani of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) pledged: “You have our commitment to play, to contribute and to help pass health-care reform this year.” And this from a participant calling for the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities: “You have created a network among us that we didn’t even know exists. We are more alike than we are different.”

The energy in the room was beyond intellectual engagement. While it’s possible there were some instances of merely playing nice, or even malicious compliance, the overriding spirit of coming together created “a tone, a culture, a feeling” of something much grander, noted Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana), Finance Committee Chairman, who also offered one of several touching tributes to Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.).

All in all, a great start. Granted, the summit was all about health care, and of course we would like to have seen more – or at least some – of the discussion dedicated to broader changes that will keep people out of the care system in the first place. And we will, as we – all of us, together – continue to turn collective awareness and action toward building healthier places to live and work. There are many opportunities for this voice to be heard as the White House conducts follow-up sessions, and through grassroots activities like town halls and channels such as healthreform.gov.

What happens now that the stakeholders have left the room? Senator Robert Bennett (R-Utah) advised that those who came together will need to “join hands and jump off the cliff together” – acknowledging an earlier comment by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island), who said we’re past the “Harry and Louise” moment; we’re at the “Thelma and Louise” moment.

As we ask after each of our Communities of Health gatherings, how do we make sure the spirit, the energy and belief do not dissipate? How can we help each other uphold our commitments to thinking and learning and acting together? What will it take to make this moment of coming together an ongoing experience of staying together?

There’s an interesting national debate right now between the Obama administration and congressional Republicans over the White House’s budget. It’s a variation of an old debate and is interesting to me not for the details of the opposing positions but for the way those details are being framed. The outcome of this debate could have a significant impact on whether the cultural winds blow in a favorable or unfavorable direction for bold initiatives like Communities of Health.

The administration – as exemplified by the President’s speech on Saturday – is framing its position as a response to the overwhelming Democratic victory in November. They say they were not elected to do small things, to nibble around the edges of the status quo. The President is saying he is moving the country in a bold new direction. (It might matter less the details of that new direction, because the issues toward which these details are directed are complex beyond the ken of average Americans. The hope here is that normal Americans will be positively moved by the “bold new direction” framing.)

The Republicans are framing the debate negatively – their position is that the Democrats are practicing the same old tax and spend policies they say threaten the fabric of American Society. In fact, Rush Limbaugh in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference Saturday went so far as to say Democratic-led welfare policies have caused the destruction of the black family in America.

As the near future unfolds it will be interesting to watch how the American public is drawn between these two positions. Are we, or enough of us to carry the day, going to follow the President’s lead into a bold new direction for our country or are we going to reject it as a fundamental intrusion into and control of our individual lives, and thereby a violation of our fundamental principles and values?

Because Communities of Health relies on a similarly bold reframing of health care – from a focus on medical interventions on individuals to community interventions on populations – the degree to which the President’s “bold new direction” framing is embraced might predict the fate of the Communities of Health reframing of health.