Reluctant Republicans 'Swoon' Over Obama After Stimulus Pitch

[tekisui]

Boehner tells press he thinks Obama was sincere in wanting to find common ground and wanting to hear ideas.

President Barack Obama put his vow to govern without partisan rancor on the line Tuesday, after holding exclusive talks with increasingly truculent Republican lawmakers about his massive stimulus plan.

And strangely enough, Congressional Republicans are aflutter over the "respect" being shown to them by President Obama, even as they continue to criticize the economic stimulus plan.

"If President carries this on it does open door for a new tone!" wrote Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) on his Twitter page as the negotiations progressed.

"Swooning," said The Hill of the unexpected outpouring of GOP appreciation.

"The statistics every day underscore the urgency of the economic situation, and the American people expect action," said President Obama between mettings with House and Senate Republicans, as quoted by the Associated Press. "I don't expect 100 percent agreement from my Republican colleagues, but I do hope we can put politics aside."

more: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Obama_sells_stimulus_to_reluctant_Republicans_0127.html

[annabanana]

1. Theater..

The curtain goes down when the voting starts..

[democracy1st]

2. Pres Obama needs to quit playing softball with these guys

[tekisui]

3. I think its a long term strategy he his employing.

Kill them with kindness, invite them into the fold. Those who want to act like whiney-asses will get steam-rolled in the long run.

[Shiver]

4. Agreed. They know he's going to do things people like

And if they want to ride his coattails, they're going to have to play his game. The ones who don't play may have some trouble in 2010...

[tekisui]

5. I'd like to see the list of repuke Senator up for re-election in 2010.

They are the ones to pressure into joining us. They are the most vulnerable.

[Shiver]

9. Ask and ye shall recieve..

Richard Shelby of Alabama
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
John McCain of Arizona
Johnny Isakson of Georgia
Mike Crapo of Idaho
Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Jim Bunning of Kentucky
David Vitter of Louisiana
Judd Gregg of New Hampshire
Richard Burr of North Carolina
Tom Coburn of Oklahoma
Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania
Jim DeMint of South Carolina
John Thune of South Dakota
Bob Bennett of Utah

Four more Republicans are retiring as well.

[tekisui]

10. Beautiful!

There are the weak points. And, the 4 retiring should be thinking of their legacy.

Some of those are in deep red states, like Bennett, Bunning, Crapo and Coburn.

The others should be hounded.

[Shiver]

Those retiring are

Brownback (Kansas), Martinez (Florida), Bond (Missouri) and Voinovich (Ohio). Not sure about them - might not care about their legacy, or might think they have it secured.

[EFerrari]

6. What makes you think he is?

Strong people don't need to beat their chest. Wait for it.

[democracy1st]

11. talking about having members of congress get off their butts and hit these tv shows

right now they look timid

[EFerrari]

13. The evening broadcasts just started. I'll have to flip around and see.

[emulatorloo]

14. He's playing chess, they're playing Jacks. Obama is two or three steps ahead of this crowd

Just like he was back in the campaign.

[Still Sensible]

7. It is good to see the change

after years of watching our guys sucking up.

[BootinUp]

8. he's simply doing what he promised

for all our sakes I hope he is successful. If his popularity numbers stay up there, it bodes well for our country imho.

[chollybocker]

12. The GOP is now patting itself on the back

for getting away with bad behavior. They're like school children.