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Obama And McCain To Meet To Find Ways To Work Together

Posted by JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief in Politics.
Nov 14th, 2008 | Comments

It this yet another sign that Arizona Sen. John McCain will now revert to his previous role as a Senate deal-maker ally for the White House — this time a White House occupied by the Democrat who defeated him in the Presidential race — and that the 2000 version of McCain will return to the forefront?

Time’s Mark Halperin has this release from the Obama camp:

“On Monday, President-elect Barack Obama and Senator John McCain will meet in Chicago at transition headquarters. It’s well known that they share an important belief that Americans want and deserve a more effective and efficient government, and will discuss ways to work together to make that a reality. They will be joined in the meeting by Senator Lindsey Graham and Congressman Rahm Emanuel.”

Couple this with reports that Obama is seriously considering his former Democratic primary rival Sen. Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State and what do you sense? If the Clinton report is correct (and if she is offered it and accepts) and if Obama starts working closely with McCain and Graham, it would be a President who is going out of his way to work with his former foes and solidify his standing in the political center.

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superdestroyer

There is no one in DC more irrelevant than John McCain. He made is name by stabbing Repulbicans in the back and now that the Republicans are irreleavant, there is no one to stab in the back anymore and since McCain has no future in politics and will probably either retire or be voted out of office in two years, then who cares what he does.

Marlowecan

SD . . . McCain has already appeared on Leno. Clearly, he longs for the good old days when he was the MSM's token Republican.
I imagine he will be guest hosting SNL again soon. Maybe an appearance on 30 Rock as well?

I look forward to Joe Klein and other critics rediscovering his respect for John McCain as McCain's continues to rebuild his reputation with his core constituency . . . the media.

With Obama safely in the White House, the MSM can now relax. It is now safe to report that Bill Ayers considered Obama a "family friend". . . Ayers has gone from "Invisible Man" to appearing on "Good Morning America" in the span of two weeks.
If the media can do that reveral . . . is it not surprising that they are showing love to McCain again?

StockBoySF

Obama bringing political friends and opponents to the table to discuss important issues is how things should be done. It will be interesting to see what the Repiblicans ask for and what Obama is willing to compromise on once he does become president and in a position to actually begin passing his ideas. These meetings are a great first start and shows the Republicans that Obama is really willing to reach across the aisle. It will take both the Dems and the Republicans working together to end the hyper-partisanship.

I disagree with superdestroyer that McCain is irrelevant, but even if McCain were irrelevant, Obama still needs as much support as he can muster. Who knows when McCain's maverick behavior will be the one vote necessary to pass some Democratic legislation in the Senate. If Obama disregarded McCain, that's not showing respect to his rival and it people would believe that Obama doesn't reach across the aisle. Obama treats people with respect, unlike most politicians.

Marlowecan

Joe's report on HRC possibly being seconded to Foggy Bottom is surprising.

This came out of nowhere.
Do you think this is a trial balloon?

Political Benefits: It would be a solid for O with the HRC wing, and Democratic women. It would also get HRC out of town.
(The saga of Colin Powell demonstrates how easily a Sec. State can be sidelined as irrelevant if necessary.)

In fairness: HRC is an excellent worker, and knows her briefs.

No real downside, as would have been had HRC been VP (with Bill in the perpetual DC background).

Hmmmm . . . does this not sound like Rahm Emanuel's work?

jchem

StockBoySF: "Who knows when McCain's maverick behavior will be the one vote necessary to pass some Democratic legislation in the Senate."

So now he's a maverick again? His campaign showed us what kind of "maverick" he was. He's a panderer, plain and simple. He is only going to do what he can to recover any bit of good reputation he once had. I agree with SD--McCain's gone in two years. I just hope the folks in AZ make it so.

Silhouette

Boy am I tired of criticisms hurled at Bill Clinton. The only thing people can point to is that he had affairs outside marriage. If you really knew how many politicians, male and female, were guilty of this "horrible, unforgiveable crime", your jaw would drop on the ground.

Bill Clinton brings quite a lot to any table or gathering. The fact that the GOP framed him for diddling around is irrelevant. Lots and lots of people...millions of people, tens of millions of people have forgiven him and moved on to recognize how good of a president he really was, and how good of a public servant he continues to be...

superdestroyer

Silhoutte,

How good was Clinton at limiting the damage of the dot.com bubble. Remember, ENRON happened on Clinton's watch along with many other companies who had zero chance of every being viable.

jchem

Sil,

I thought Bill was being called a closet racist during the primaries, tossing out Jesse Jackson's name, and using the race card to its fullest effect, essentially soiling his once "leader of the party" tag. I guess with Obama in the WH, all of that's forgotten?

Silhouette

Yes, it's all forgotten. Bill brings crucial assets to the table. His administration wasn't perfect as none are..(current one a glaring example of said), but he did do wonders for the economy. And in case you hadn't noticed, our economy could stand some wonders done to it.

elrod

Sil,
Maybe Larry Sinclair should be Secretary of State instead...

ChrisWWW

How good was Clinton at limiting the damage of the dot.com bubble. Remember, ENRON happened on Clinton's watch along with many other companies who had zero chance of every being viable.

Clinton and the Republicans put far too much faith in Alan Greenspan. As for Enron, I'm not sure how you can blame that on Clinton unless you have some evidence that he was responsible for reviewing their finances.

And let's not forget Senator Phil Gramm was responsible for the deregulation which made Enron possible. Gramm is a Republican.

jchem

100% with you Sil. I think Bill's assistance would serve us quite well.

But back to the point. While I would commend Obama for reaching across the aisle toward McCain, does he really want someone who was an advocate for "all the failed policies of the Bush administration"? That was part of his central argument against McCain, right?

StockBoySF

jchem: "But back to the point. While I would commend Obama for reaching across the aisle toward McCain, does he really want someone who was an advocate for "all the failed policies of the Bush administration"? That was part of his central argument against McCain, right?"

There will be common ground between the Dems and Reps. McCain isn't about to vote with the Dems on most issues, but why does that mean that Obama should not make an effort at reconciliation? Just becaue Obama doesn't agree with McCain doesn't mean that Obama should not try to work with him. Obama understands he is the president elect of all people, not just the people who supported him. Obama will listen to his opponents. Besides, I'm not saying I'm right on McCain and Obama.... all I can do is offer my opinion.

Bottom line: If we want the government to stop their petty bickering and get something done, then someone has to act like an adult and make the first move at reconciliation. Obama is doing so.

jchem

StockBoy, you make a good point. They may agree on more things than they disagree on. It just seems to be a bit strange that one guy can spend an entire summer saying how wrong-headed the other guy's policies are and then all of a sudden welcome him aboard and let him bring all the baggage with.

StockBoySF

jchem, I agree that it does seem a bit strange that the opponents can spend all summer going after each other and then speak on working together. But I think fundamentally that compromise is possible on some issues. Obama didn't win the election to ram his ideas down everyone's throat. Obama won to give a general direction to the country by way of his policies. I think big picture is the order of the day while some of the smaller details can be worked out.

I think that was Bush's downfall.... not having a clear and comprehensive big picture direction for his policies and the country (other than to keep us safe from terrorists). But Bush wanted to win the "battle" on every little detail with the Dems. But I suppose that we can argue about that for hours... and that's a different discussion.

I hope that made sense. Thanks.

kritt11

Getting back on track after spending all summer at each other's throats may seem strange, but that is what successful politicians do. I believe Obama's tendency to not take campaign attacks personally is a strength that will serve him and us well.

Obama realizes that he needs McCain, and is taking his gracious concession speech at his word. Is it too much to assume that both men are aware that the country can't afford to lose any more ground due to fruitless partisan games? I believe they are putting their differences aside in order to do what's best for the country-- which is in fact patriotic.

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