U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson criticized President Obama on Thursday for being too “aloof” and not fighting hard enough to pass health care legislation before offering his own prescription.

“It’s my hope that the President is going to get engaged,” Nelson, D-Fla., said Thursday. “He’s been aloof. If we’re going to pass health care he’s got to get in there with a bull whip and brass knuckles.”

Nelson was in West Palm Beach to speak at a luncheon hosted by the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches at the Kravis Center. In comments before and during the lunch, he railed against the “excessive partisanship” and “ideological rigidity” that was jamming up Congress and frustrating voters.

Taking questions from the audience, Nelson offered his own solution. He conceded that the so-called public option would not get the necessary 60 votes in the Senate. Instead, he endorsed creating a “nationwide insurance plan,” as outlined in the Senate version of a health care bill to offer coverage to those who aren’t already covered by their employer. The program, he said, would be similar to the plan now offered to federal employees and would be overseen by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. The plan would compete against private insurers, offering coverage through a state insurance marketplace