Over Drinks With Donors, Obama Recounts Lunch With Republicans

[babylonsister]

Over Drinks With Donors, Obama Recounts Lunch With Republicans
By JACKIE CALMES


SAN FRANCISCO — Hours after President Obama met privately with Senate Republicans at the Capitol on Tuesday, he was here on the West Coast, regaling Democratic donors with his version of the 75-minute luncheon squabble.

Making light of the parties’ differences over just about every issue and of his nearly dashed hopes for a post-partisan era, the president said he told the Republicans, “The day has passed when I expected this to be a full partnership.”

Mr. Obama mischievously said the luncheon in Washington was closed at the Senate Republicans’ request — unlike an earlier such session with House Republicans in which, by most accounts, Mr. Obama got the better of the televised argument.

“We agreed to let the press in on that one. This one not so much,” he quipped, to laughter from an audience of roughly 1,000 people who had contributed $250 or $500 each.

snip//

Mr. Obama said that in his time in office he had made decisions unpopular with his progressive base, and he urged Republicans to do the same.

Mr. Obama’s point about disappointing some in his liberal base had been illustrated moments earlier when a man yelled out, “Move faster on ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ ” — a protest of the president’s delay in keeping his promise to get Congress to repeal the military policy against openly gay and lesbian service members.

Though the audience initially tried to drown out the man’s words by chanting the Obama campaign slogan “Yes, we can,” Mr. Obama engaged him, suggesting that perhaps the same man had interrupted a fund-raiser in Los Angeles last month. Mr. Obama advised the man to buy a ticket to infiltrate an event for someone who does not share his views.

“We are working with Congress as we speak to roll back ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ ” Mr. Obama said. Move faster? “I’m dealing with Congress here,” he said. “Come on!”

more...

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/over-drinks-with-donors-obama-recounts-lunch-with-republicans/?src=twt&twt=thecaucus

[zipplewrath]

1. Um, Mr. President

“We are working with Congress as we speak to roll back ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ ” Mr. Obama said. Move faster? “I’m dealing with Congress here,” he said. “Come on!”

Um, Mr. President. Let's be honest for a second. You're holding up Congress, not the other way around. They are ready to act NOW, and you're negotiating for a delay. So, yeah, move faster. If you think that is unwise, fine, make your case. But don't just blame congress when you're the one causing the delay.

[Butch350]

2. No One Can Please Anyone 100%..

just ask your spouse or love interest. It works the same in politics too.

[zipplewrath]

3. But don't lie either

If you disagree with the spouse, say so. Don't just blame it on the dog.

[Unvanguard]

4. While Obama has been substantially behind Congressional leaders on this one

and this repeal arrangement could have been reached a long time ago, and perhaps with a stronger likelihood of success, had he acted more strongly months ago, I don't think he's referring to Levin, Murphy, Pelosi, etc. here but rather to the conservative Democrats who are reluctant to support repeal--who have been the fundamental problem all along.

[zipplewrath]

5. In so many ways

His deferential treatment of the conservative leaning democrats has hurt much of his agenda. It was what caused his health insurance reform to wait until March of this year to get passed. But the bottom line is that HE is more sympathetic to THAT part of congress, than the leadership to which you refer. And in this current situation, it is the DoD that is holding back and congress is pushing HIM.

[kenfrequed]

7. Well

Let us not forget the role a presidents advisors play in this day and age. he surrounded himself with blue dogs and DLC stooges so of course they conflate the case and concerns of the conservative democrats who could have been brought into line in his first three months during his honeymoon with the press, had they been pressured.

Instead it has been the rest of the Democratic party that has been pressured and the left has been thoroughly ignored all in the name of phony bi-partisanship that never actually worked.

[Bluenorthwest]

6. Mr Obama seems to miss the fact that he is held to the standard

he himself put forth, that of a Fierce Advocate. All that big talk on the trail turned to hot air when he got that bully pulpit he promised to use, he did not.
He needs to be honest about it, and not play games. If he does not want to be protested, he should simply live up to his own words about himself. He wants to be milquetoast and still be treated as the courageous leader. It just does not work that way.
Also, when a self proclaimed Christian has the gall to tell equality protesters to protest those who oppose us, as if we do not, and as if we have not been doing so for decades, as if we alone have not faced down the Christian's own right wing, that is offensive. When Phelps is there for the faith community, he is their only voice, and until very recently, only gay people countered those hateful messages. So when the President says we should protest the opposition, he fails to see that we have been, he is protested to the extent that he himself is the opposition, and he needs to stop suggesting that we do not take the message to the worst of the bigots, because we do. The faith community does not. Obama has in fact stood with and employed the very hate preachers we protest, he should not be surprised at protest, for from his first outings with McClurkin, he has been seeing and hearing from us, just as the Republicans always have and always will.
He's not well informed, and it shows.

[zipplewrath]

8. We do tend to take it to the opposition

So when the President says we should protest the opposition, he fails to see that we have been, he is protested to the extent that he himself is the opposition, and he needs to stop suggesting that we do not take the message to the worst of the bigots, because we do.

I wanted to be snarky and suggest that we would have, but we didn't want to interrupt his inauguration.