President Barack Obama is headed to Camp David for the long holiday weekend, but it will probably not be all about relaxation and recreation at summer’s official end. Next Wednesday he is due to appear before a joint session of Congress to deliver what may be a crucial speech about his proposed healthcare reforms, so it is a safe bet that much of his time will be spent preparing that.

Political pundits and observers believe that Obama is in the process of retooling his message in attempt to regain control of the issue and encourage the kind of bi partisan support he will need to get his reforms passed. Speaking before a joint session of Congress is something that is usually reserved just for such speeches as the “State of the Union” addresses that a President is expected to give.

In fact in  the last couple of decades such a session has only been called twice; once in 2001 by then President George Bush to discuss the terrorist attacks on NYC and Washington DC and in 1993, when President Bill Clinton convened a special session,  ironically enough to discuss his plans for healthcare reform.

Away from Camp David the heated debates about healthcare are showing no signs of cooling down. One of the strangest events so far in the whole affair was reported from Los Angeles on Wednesday. It was reported that an elderly man had his finger bitten off by a rival protestor when a pro Obama rally got out of control just outside LA. The rally was being sponsored by the Moveon.org organization and according to reports the injured man was a part of that group and was making his way through a crowd when he clashed with an anti-reform protestor, whom he got into what was apparently a fist fight in which he threw the first punch. The victim then reacted by biting off his attackers finger.

Such unusual occurrences aside the battle lines over healthcare are still very much in place. Senator John Kerry held a town hall meeting in Sommerville, Mass and promised a cheering crowd that he would be picking up where his late Massachusetts colleague Ted Kennedy left off , taking on “all the battles Teddy would have done”

Protestors outside that meeting carried banners that read “Stop Obama’s Nazi Health Plans” and posters of the President with a Hitler style moustache drawn on. Protests there were largely peaceful though, with the two sides remaining apart from one another.