Posted on 11/17/2008 10:16:44 AM PST by Jet Jaguar
President-elect Barack Obama says he and Republican Sen. John McCain plan to work together to "fix up the country."
The two former rivals met in Obama's transition office Monday in Chicago. Rahm Emanuel, Obama's incoming White House chief of staff, participated in the meeting, as did McCain's close friend, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
This is 100% from Obama’s propaganda machine.
The “fix” was in. “McCain, take a dive when you hear the word bailout.”...............”
When House Speaker Tip O'Neill first came across the likes of Ronald Reagan, he didn't quite know what he was up against. Tip respected the president's 44-state mandate, and he knew he was a likable-enough fellow, but who knew how good a pol Reagan really was? Or that perhaps they actually had something in common? O'Neill, after all, was the product of working-class New England, a shot-and-a-beer guy who still lived in the old neighborhood. Reagan was from the small-town Midwest, a handsome lifeguard who started out as a Democrat only to wind up a Hollywood star and a Republican. Sure, both Irishmen enjoyed a good joke and could spin a good yarn, but that was as far as it went. And as for their beliefs, the chasm was far too wide to bridge: Differences over the size and role of government, the virtue of tax cuts, and the benefits of social programs merely topped the list. advertisement
They didn't differ about everything, though. Both men revered the presidency, and both believed they were elected to make things happen. For them, partisanship--while completely appropriate in politics--always had a natural endpoint. "After the second Tuesday in November, we all started to figure out how to get things done," former House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dan Rostenkowski tells me. "None of this putting off the tough decisions until another day." Imagine: They just wanted to work.
Reagan vs. O'Neill was a true clash of the titans. It started out cordially enough, with the speaker believing the president should be given a chance to pass his programs, given his impressive victory. Besides, Tip figured the presidency had suffered enough in the four years of Jimmy Carter. Tip took a pounding from his liberal flank, but he was determined to let Reagan have his votes on his tax cuts. This, of course, was not done without some political consideration. "Give him enough rope," Tip used to confide to journalists like me. He was convinced that Reagan would hand the Democrats a platform to run on in 1982.
Which Reagan did, serving up the issue of Social Security. When an administration plan to cut benefits for early retirees leaked, O'Neill pounced. "Despicable," he said, calling it a "rotten thing to do." Then came Reagan's tax-cut plan. O'Neill was all over it. "He has no concern, no regard, no care for the little man of America," O'Neill thundered. "And I understand that. Because of his lifestyle, he never meets those people." It was pure Tip. But Reagan hurled it right back at him, calling his statement "sheer demagoguery." As John Farrell recounts in his superb biography, Tip O'Neill and the Democratic Century, the speaker went to the press gallery to try to claim the high road, saying, "I would never accuse a president, whoever he was, of being a demagogue." Farrell writes that the president phoned O'Neill the next day to call a truce. "Ronnie called him to clear the air, and Tip told him right then, 'Old buddy, that's politics--after 6 o'clock we can be friends; but before 6, it's politics.'"
There's no need to romanticize the relationship. They were not best friends. "I think that maybe Tip had a little Irish jealousy [of Reagan]," says Rosty. O'Neill and Reagan continued to fight, with Republicans happily using O'Neill as Reagan's foil. When it came to tax reform, in Reagan's second term, Tip privately accused Rostenkowski of "being a goddamn Republican" as he worked toward a package. But Rosty finally got it--largely because the president gave him his word that he would not criticize the tax bill as it was being written. "If you start talking about this bill, it will fall apart," Rosty recalls telling Reagan. The president called in his chief of staff, Don Regan, and informed him of the deal he had made. "And Reagan kept his word," says Rosty. "For two years."
Imagine that. Then imagine Reagan inviting Democrats and Republicans over for drinks every month or two--usually when Nancy was away. "Hell," Rosty recalls, "Reagan used to have six or seven of us over to the White House just to tell jokes." One time, he smiles, "Reagan wore that plaid sports jacket, and he offered me Campari. I told him if he didn't have any gin, I would go out and buy some." Then it was down to business. "I told him, 'You and I can write some history,' " recalls the chairman of the tax-writing committee. It was the beginning of tax reform. "It's so sad now," says Rosty. "These people [in Washington] are so angry they don't even talk to each other."
Not even after 6 o'clock.
Mccain should of never been the rep nominee to begin with..him and that leslie graham are both RINOS
I ended up voting for McCain even though I said I wouldn’t. This shows us that we really didn’t have anyone we could vote for.
Two birds of a feather - watch out below!!!!!
...and lose. The Dems tried this in 2002 and got hammered in the elections. When they changed their game to oppose everything Bush did, they started winning again.
“Obamanation wants is for you to push the Demagogue agenda with Republicans, and to attack and berate those who don’t fall into line.”
“Oh, I guess that’s what you’ve signed on for, huh?”
That’s what McCain has been doing for a long time anyway.
I have an optimistic take on the conversation. Let's hope McCain tells Obama that amnesty ought to be his first or second legislative push, then let the American people rise up in arms and FOREVER put the talk of amnesty behind us. (Were McCain Machiavellian enough, he'd suggest "comprehensive reform" just to derail Obama.)After all, Americans know that the girly-boy Obama never made amnesty a priority, and with increasing unemployment in America, how could the American citizenry possibly endorse amnesty? Congressional phones would burn again.
Regards . . . Penny
Are you trying to claim that Obama and McCain working together would actually be good for the country?
Dream on.
Hmmm, McCain and Obama, McCain and Kennedy, McCain and Feingold...
Reach out, reach out and touch someone.
What amazes me is that South Carolina is probably in the top 5 reddest states and they can’t get a REAL conservative as a Senator? They just reelected that jerk again for six years.
Very good point. They differed on policy but after hours they put the acrimony on the shelf. Neither side seems to be willing to do that any more and when they try they wind up wearing arrows in their backs shot from their own side.
I don’t think liberalism and core conservatism have changed all that much but the attitudes sure have.
THE FOUR TOPS - Reach Out, I’ll Be There
Now if you feel that you can’t go on (can’t go on)
Because all of your hope is gone (all your hope is gone)
And your life is filled with much confusion (much confusion)
Until happiness is just an illusion (happiness is just an illusion)
And your world around is crumbling down, darlin
Reach out come on girl reach on out for me
Reach out reach out for me
I’ll be there with a love that will shelter you
I’ll be there with a love that will see you through
When you feel lost and about to give up (to give up)
Cause your life just ain’t good enough (just ain’t good enough)
And your feel the world has grown cold (has grown cold)
And your drifting out all on your own (drifting out on your own)
And you need a hand to hold, darlin
Reach out come on girl reach out for me
Reach out reach out for me
I’ll be there to love and comfort you
And I’ll be there to cherish and care for you
I’ll be there to always see you through
I’ll be there to love and comfort you
I can tell the way you hang your head (hang your head)
Your not in love now, now your afraid (you’re afraid)
And through the tears you look around (look around)
But there’s no piece of mind to be found (no piece of mind to be found)
I know what your thinking,
You’re alone now, no love of your own, but darling
Reach out come on girl reach out for me
Reach out reach out.......... just look over your shoulder
I’ll be there to give you all the love you need
And I’ll be there you can always depend on me
I’ll be there to always see you through
I’ll be there to love and comfort you
>>This is news ?<<
Not surprising news... but it is the right thing for McCain to say.
Now you know why Republicans have had a constant nauseated feeling ever since McCain first won the nomination...
God help us.
Maybe he give him a hug.
In the mean time, what are we supposed to do with all these bumper stickers?
McCain can perform a good service if he can persuade The One that rushing out of Iraq too early is a mistake.
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