Refreshing Engagement Between President Obama and House Republicans

What the country saw yesterday -- a fully televised engagement between President Obama and House Republicans -- we need to see much, much more of. One of President Obama's campaign promises was to open up the negotiating rooms of Washington DC, so that the American public can more accurately weigh for itself which politicians are really representing the interests of the common good, and which ones are merely representing parochial special interests. Not fulfilling that promise was a failing of Obama's first year as President. He admitted that failure in recent speeches.

Yesterday, he took a major step forward toward bringing more transparency to the public debate.

Last year, when President Obama spoke at the annual House Republican retreat, only his speech was televised. This year, both the speech and the important Q&A -- the give and take and verbal push and shove -- were televised. It is reported that prior to the event, an Obama staffer contacted House Republican leadership and asked if they would be willing to allow cameras to stay in the room and keep rolling during the Q&A portion. According to knowledgeable insiders, Republican leadership was not enthusiastic about the idea, but accepted the proposal nonetheless because one of their recent public critiques of Obama is that he has not fulfilled his campaign promise of transparency. I wonder if they are regretting that critique. President Obama delivered a remarkable standup performance. Admitting cameras into the Q&A was the writing was on the wall for those House Republicans hoping to score a political victory. When confronting a highly skilled orator like Obama, the last thing you want to do is give him a nationally televised platform to do pile-drives, flying ddt's, and other WWF moves on your arguments.

Obama scored points with quick and sharp responses to tough Republican questions ranging from taxes to healthcare to budget spending. But the real winners were the American people. It was evident from the dialogue that there is much more common ground between the President and House Republicans, than there is disagreement. This common ground - if nurtured - has the potential to realize important legislative developments over the next 3 years. We can only hope.

Peace

Jeremy