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.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.