The statement appeared to illustrate hardening lines in the battle over health-care reform in Congress. Waters voiced dismay with comments made by White House officials last week that have been widely perceived as backing down from the so-called public option. 'President (Barack) Obama has been trying to reach across the aisle' to win a compromise with Republicans, Waters said. 'It is not going to happen.' Then Waters made a public appeal to Obama. 'The people of this country elected you and gave you a Democratic majority in the House and the Senate. ... Yes, we know that you are a nice man. That you want to work with the opposite side of the aisle. But there comes a time when you need to drop that, and move forward,' Waters said. 'We're saying to you, Mr. President, `Be tough. Use everything that you've got. Do what you have to do. And we have your back.' ' Saturday's town hall meeting was notable for who didn't show up: enraged hecklers adamantly opposed to health-care reform, who have disrupted similar events across the country. Linda Krausen, a South Pasadena resident who attended a contentious town hall in Alhambra earlier this month, marveled at the difference. In Alhambra, 'it was such a shouting match,' Krausen said. 'I could actually understand what's on the table here.' Waters reserved her most searing critiques for Senate Democrats who have not embraced the public option. 'Not only are we going to do everything we can to organize and put pressure on the senators -- some of whom are Neanderthals -- we're going to say to the president, `We want you to use every weapon in your basket in order to get those senators to do what they should be doing,' ' Waters said. The town hall meeting occurred in an area of the county home to impoverished neighborhoods that have long struggled with inadequate access to health care. The need for health-care services was illustrated vividly in the past two weeks, when thousands of of people lined up for hours at the Forum in Inglewood waiting for service at an eight-day free health clinic. The crowds were so large many in need were turned away. Joseph Price, an emergency medical technician from Pico Rivera who volunteered at the Forum, was upset that so many had to depend on chance to find health care. 'It shouldn't have to be a matter of winning the Lotto,' Price told the town hall. Some attendees, while supporting reform, expressed worry they were not winning the battle for public opinion. One man noted that Waters expressed her vision for health-care reform by going over more than a dozen key points, and said the complicated rationales for health-care reform were making it difficult to win converts. 'This is not an easy idea' to argue, one man said. 'The question is, how do you simplify the message? Until it gets simple, how can you win the debate?' There was no easy answer. 'Every day, we're working to try to refine the message,' Waters said. 