GREAT SESSION TODAY
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From: Bruce S.
Date: Friday, January 29, 2010, 12:05 PM
Subject: Great session today
ID: 269691

Anybody happened to see Obama with those GOP leaders today? It was on MSNBC -- I didn't see it all, but what I did catch was great.

He was up on stage taking questions -- and what comes to mind for me is

• He was brilliant -- and what I was getting looked and felt very honest and real.

• If we want to fix our politics -- if he wants to (and he does) -- he should do a lot of these. Democratic strategist Bob Schrumm said the same thing.

• As Luke Russert said following the event, Obama simply refuted the Republican talking points. I thought he did that very powerfully and persuasively. "Any independent fact-checker out there, take a look at this...."

Maybe because I didn't see it all, I was very encouraged. I was thinking -- you want to make American politics work -- keep doing this -- have an event like this every week.

But the issue probably revolves around Luke Russert's point. Unfortunately the issue for most politicians is not getting to the truth, or working together successfully -- it's scoring points in the home district.

Senator Jay Rockefeller, a leader on the health care issues, came on and said he actually found the experience very sad. Now -- I didn't see it that way -- but I respect him enough to believe he's got a point.

So -- all the more reason to heat up "the voice of the people".

Obama was brilliant, clear, straight-ahead, and very persuasive. That's the kind of Obama I voted for, and who I want to see in motion, putting the pieces together and making this country work right.

And wouldn't it be sweet -- if we could just do a little fire-side bi-partisan chat like this every week. Heal the nation, get us back on track, etc.

But -- is that going to happen? Senator Rockefeller and Luke Russert don't think so.

But as the polls clearly indicate -- the vast majority of American voters DO want a much higher degree of bi-partisan cooperation. Alex Witt made that very clear.

***

I heard about a book this morning, "Independent Nation". I gotta get that book.

http://www.independentnation.org/

This is where the power is, gang, big-time.

This is what we gotta heat up.

You love Obama -- or used to -- this is what we gotta do. Don't take sides and throw rocks. It just makes a mess and gridlocks the country. Pull people together and get them talking -- and do it in a way where they can be honest, instead of having to manipulate and spin everything as part of their political strategy.

Obama essentially said the same thing today. I hope I can get a transcript of his comments.

http://purplealliance.us