Posted on 09/20/2009 7:54:47 PM PDT by mathprof
President Obama intends to keep wooing the public to support for his health care goals in a scheduled Monday night appearance on the “Late Show with David Letterman.” Polls suggest he has had mixed results so far.
Most critical, however, is his private effort to persuade one person: Senator Olympia J. Snowe, Republican of Maine.
And that effort appears to be going very well.
Ms. Snowe has not endorsed either Democratic health care bill in the Senate. No Republican has.
But in an interview, she offered a surprisingly robust endorsement of Mr. Obama’s skepticism about expanding government too much, his willingness to accommodate different views and his assertion that Washington must act now after decades of failure.
Those views directly contradict the assertions of Republican leaders, who accuse Mr. Obama of pursuing a radical expansion of government, spurning dialogue and unduly rushing to enact his agenda. Ms. Snowe’s analysis of the discrepancy: she has maintained traditional Republican principles over 30 years in Washington, while her party has moved past them to the right.
“I haven’t changed as a Republican,” she said. “I think more that my party has changed.”
The significance of the Obama-Snowe relationship lies not in the prospect that the president will replicate it with many, or even any, other Republicans. To achieve his objectives, Ms. Snowe may be the only Republican he needs.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
She is a stupid woman who has the hots for Obama. Very dangerous old bat.
“Polls suggest he has had mixed results so far. Most critical, however, is his private effort to persuade one person: Senator Olympia J. Snowe,”
Coming from the nyt the polls must be disastrous. Not sure what to make of Collins being it’s a nyt story.
The NY Slimes can huff and puff all they want, Barry O’s problem isn’t Republicans. It’s DumocRATs who would like to hang in congress for more than a term.
Is she up for election in 2010?
Barry doesn’t need Snowe. His party has more than enough votes to move us along the road to communism.
Much more of this and we will see some Blue Dogs pulling a reverse-Spector.
I don’t believe ANYTHING John Harwood writes or says. He is a conventional wisdom/beltway true believer. I desperately wants a “win” for Obama on healthcare and you can see it in his reporting. He frames everything as a positive for Obama. It’s disgusting.
I’m really fed up with robo calls from the DNC over health care. I get irritated at Snowe and Collins every time the DNC or any left wing interest groups phones my home. If she weren’t such a RINO we wouldn’t be bugged so much.
Here’s your girlfriend preparing to help Zero finish off America once and for all. Trust me, she’s going to vote for this POS bill when she’s done hemming and hawing for the cameras. Moderate my @ss, my stools have more convictions than she does.
I think 2012. She was elected first in 1994.
She's up in 2012 and she's going to win because she's going to get concessions from Zero and the DNC not to run any Rat candidates against her in exchange for her vote for Obamacare.
That's my standard reply when the GOP calls and asks for money. "Get back to me when you get rid of Snowe and Sphincter."
Yes, he does.
This is why the NY Slimes put this piece out. Zero needs a couple of Republicans to cross over and vote so they can stamp the magical "bipartisanship" label on the bill. Democrats are too chicken to pass socialist bills on their own, which is why they had Specter and the Maine gals vote for Porkulus and the Cap and Tax RINOs in the House.
I’m surprised they don’t just have John Kerry announce that he’s switched parties and is a Republican, so the New York Times can get on with talking about the great bipartisan victory.
You are correct. She is up again in 2012.
I live in Maine and I wish she would move to another state. Or, better yet, another country.
Well the GOP could run someone against her.
Huh?
Obama is “skeptical” about expanding government too much?
Heck, 0bama is the biggest and fastest expander of government this world has ever seen.
On what planet is this writer living on?
Planet Orwellian?
” his willingness to accommodate different views”
What did that happen then? No one ever saw it.
” she has maintained traditional Republican principles over 30 years in Washington, while her party has moved past them to the right.
“I haven’t changed as a Republican,” she said. “I think more that my party has changed.” “
Naaah.
Miss "Arlene Specter" Snow, you need to get off the crack.
Miss Snow has never maintained one iota of traditional Republican values in her life.
The Republican Party can never get anywhere unless the party purges itself of duplicitous, treacherous, disloyal, party of convenience Republicans, with liberal souls, and a deep hatred of traditional conservative values, like Olympia Snow.
This is such an obvious trolling shill job for 0bama and his doomed Obamacare bill, its almost laughable in it's shamelessness and transparency.
The GOP should, but they won’t. Not with “The GOP should be all inclusive” Michael Steele running the GOP.
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