Obama Presser: Spectacular?
Question 7 Is Sen. Arlen Specter's switch to the Dem party a game changer, as some in the GOP privately suggest?
"I think very highly of Arlen Specter," Obama said, adding that he has a record of legislative accomplishment as good as any senator.
"I'm under no illusions that suddenly I'm going to have a rubberstamp Senate," he said. Has Democrats "who don't agree with me." "And that's the way it should be." Regional differences persist. Compromise and give and take required.
"I do think that -- to my Republican friends -- I want them to realize that me reaching out to them has been genuine. I can't sort of define bipartisanship as simply being willing to accept certain theories of theirs that we tried for eight years" and didn't work and were rejected by the American people in the 2008 election.
"Probably not a good political strategy" for the GOP to oppose the administration on every front, he added.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Obama doesn't expect Dems to fall in line behind him? Oh really? What did "don't think we're not keeping score" mean when he said it to DiFazio?
And this cynical, self-serving move of Specter's had absolutely nothing to do with values, policy, or any high-minded thinking of any kind- though President Obama surely would like for you to think that.
Everybody knows he did it because he was down 21% in the polls leading-up to the GOP primary for his seat- and Joey Pluggs made a deal with him, he already admitted as such. The sad truth is that this hack has spent three decades in the Senate, while accomplishing little.
And Barack and him have a lot in common- as unprincipled political opportunists, I’m sure they’ll get along just great.
Just a little over a month ago, the Senator said in an interview that he wouldn’t switch parties due to the importance of checks and balances.
And back in 2001, Sen. Arlen Specter, then a Republican, proposed a rule forbidding party switches… he was upset when Vt Sen. Jim Jeffords’ left the GOP to become an independent.
Who knows what the truth is with this guy, you’ll never get it from him.
With all due respect, Senator- don’t let the door hit your butt on the way out. Nobody on our side’s going to miss you.
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