"Will Obama Still Have a Hand After Reaching Out to Republicans?" (with video)

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David Neiwert (Crooks and Liars), with video:

(money quote) We've known all along that Obama is a reach-out-to-your-enemy kind of guy; it's a big part of what made him so electable.

But the experience of the past eight years has made clear that the Republican idea of bipartisanship involves hot pokers and nether regions. When you reach out to them, usually all you have left to show for it is a hand gnawed down to the bone.

Howie P.S.: David equates looking for support from Republicans with distancing himself from "those stinking dirty hippies" (bloggers, liberals, etc.). The video from CNN quotes Ken Vogel (Politico) to support this argument. I don't see it that way: Obama is trying to build a governing majority for his agenda. He won't get it from Hannity, Republican leaders or FAUX News, but there may be other votes to win over, from "the other side." I think of it as the "Fifty State Strategy" applied to Congress.

Barack Obama