Rove Some congressional Republicans want to turn down President Barack Obama’s invitation for a nationally televised, Feb. 25 White House pow-wow on health care.

They fear that if GOP leaders show up for the event, they will end up agreeing to a bad health- care bill in the name of bipartisanship.

But Republican leaders should accept the invitation. The country rightly expects them to do so, even though it’s a made-for-TV kabuki drama written, staged and directed by Obama.

Those ideas are far-reaching and significant. They include allowing small businesses to band together to get the same insurance discounts big companies get, passing tort reform to eliminate junk lawsuits that drive up the price of health care, and enacting reforms that would make health insurance portable for workers.

They also include allowing people to buy health insurance across state lines, giving families the same health insurance tax breaks companies get, and empowering patients by making health prices more transparent.

By contrasting those ideas with ObamaCare, Republicans can give the lie to the White House charge that the GOP is the “party of no.”

For example, Republicans want Americans to be able to save more money tax free for health-care expenses. Democrats would reduce the existing amount that can be saved tax free, which this year is $3,050 for individuals.

Obama will claim the legislation he wants would allow people to buy health insurance across state lines.

But that’s not exactly accurate. His approach is to allow states to do what they can already do: pass a law authorizing residents to buy insurance in another state.

There are plenty of weaknesses in ObamaCare that Republicans can hone in on. They can point out that 10 years of tax increases and Medicare cuts pay for only four full years of new entitlements and that the projections for savings and tax revenues are based on gimmicks.

They can question whether congressional Democrats will actually cut Medicare by roughly $500 billion, as their bills call for.

Republicans can ask how Obama squares his pledge not to raise taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 a year with $20 billion in new taxes on medical devices.

Obama’s Feb. 25 meeting is not about hammering out a bipartisan consensus. It is bluff and desperation. Obama knows the biggest obstacle before him is deep division within his party.

Republicans should remember they are near the end of the process rather than its beginning. A year of his missteps have squandered a historically strong Democratic advantage on health care.

Karl Rove is former senior advisor to President George W. Bush and author of “Courage and Consequence.”