The first article I found that caught my attention asks, "Can the President work with the Democrats?" and shows how Obama has been butting heads with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a fellow Democrat, over several of the key issues he has already faced in office.
And I thought it was interesting to see "Joe the Plumber" still around after the election, as it seems he will doing political strategy with Republicans regarding the economic stimulus package.
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It is interesting to see Republican Members of Congress involve "Joe the Plumber" in any formal meetings. What does that say about the leadership in the Republican Party? Does the Republican party not have a clear leader while the Democrats have too many?
ReplyDeleteI still don't understand how "Joe the Plumber" is still relevant? I felt during the election, it was in poor taste to continue to bring "Joe the Plumber" up. Now that the election is over, I think it is pointless and redundant. I think the party should learn how to convey their concerns without "Joe the Plumber".
ReplyDelete.
I like your article from Time about the relationship between Speaker Pelosi and President Obama. When Obama selected Rahm Emanuel as his Chief of Staff, I thought he did it more to rough up Pelosi than Republicans in Congress. She has been painted, fairly or unfairly, as a pretty strong partisan while Obama wants to try to, at least rhetorically, put partisanship aside. Of course their is going to be friction.
ReplyDeleteOne point in the article which I found interesting was the quote by the House staffer about Pelosi's realism: "What she realized with Obama coming in was that, yeah, we can go through this dance, but at the end of the day, this was going to be a tutorial for the Obama folks." That is true, but I think people on the Hill and in the media did not think critically enough about Obama's argument. During the campaign he called for "a new kind of politics" not based on differences, but agreements. I think his intention was more of a tonal shift to a more civilized politics (kind of an oxymoron). This does not mean that he is not going to squeak a lot of his agenda through with mostly Democratic support. Instead he wanted to have a civilized discussion with both Democrats and Republicans that could result in some long-term bipartisan support and less bad blood than the last 16 or so years.
I feel bad for smart articulate conservative pundits trying to earn a living with Joe the Plumber out there eating up their air time.
ReplyDeleteI don't like "man in the street" interviews either. Or Jay Leno for the record.
Good post.