Well, that was more interesting than anyone could have reasonably expected it to be. The sense I’m getting from conservatives and GOP strategists is that the
“„Debatable how much this back-&-forth actually achieves, but it lookslike change/openness. Had O tried it earlier, woulda done him good.
“„What an arrogant SOB. He repeatedly accuses House Republicans of lowering the tone of debate, and denies that his side has done ANY politicizing or any insults, etc. This is just outrageous. His tone was utterly inappropriate, his body language even worse. That was not a polite give-and-take (although Republicans were certainly polite); it was a stern, rhetoric-filled, in-your-face lecture.
“„[I]t would be hard to argue the exchange is anything but a plus-plus for Obama and the GOP. Both sides emerged from it looking as if, contra the public’s greatest fears, they more or less know what they are talking about on issues like the deficit and health-care reform. The president avoided the temptation to speak in platitudes and sound bytes, and the Republicans went a long way toward showing that they are hardly a party of obstructionists with no solutions to offer Americans.