Bush calls a Democratic effort to expand a popular program a move toward government takeover of healthcare.

Laying down a marker on healthcare, President Bush on Wednesday strongly criticized a push by Democrats and some moderate Republicans to broaden a popular children's insurance program. Bush called the plan a step toward a government takeover of medicine.After months of watching from the sidelines as Congress ignored his healthcare ideas, Bush forcefully reinserted himself into the debate. His bottom line: Government healthcare programs should focus on the poor and near-poor, not on middle-class families.