Podesta Gives His First Interview

Yesterday, ThinkProgress provided our readers an opportunity to ask John Podesta questions pertaining to his service on the Obama transition team. You responded with great enthusiasm, offering more than 100 comments and questions. Thank you!

I sat down with John yesterday afternoon for about 20 minutes. In that period of time, we were able to get to 8 of your questions. The first one I asked him was the top-rated question, as voted on by the ThinkProgress community. It was submitted by user curtisteff, and it read: "Why is President Obama giving up so much to try to appease the conservatives?" Podesta offered this response:

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[solarian]

for the last 8 years have they worked with democrats no nothing will satisfy them they are not the majority and they just hate that

[jsgaetano]

Since Republicans will never vote for anything which will benefit America... WHY are Democrats watering down the bill with crap to appeal to Repu.bes?

Take out all those tax breaks- if tax breaks helped, we wouldn't be in trouble now. Then take all the money allocated to tax breaks, and shift it to infrastructure spending. We've got over eight years of Republican neglect of our country to take care of. If we give the states money, it's likely already spent. They know what needs to be fixed.

[CVilleDem]

It was my question about if Single-Payer Universal Health Care is off the table. I am extremely disappointed to find out that indeed it is off the table. So once again, insurance companies -- which profit by syphoning off money from our health-care system and functioning solely as gatekeepers and provide no services -- win again.

This is really a shame.

[NCYvonne]

Folks on the left are just as n.u.t.s as those wa//cka/doos on the right. They equate talking with appeasement. Obama hasn't given away anything to the Repugs. He's talked to them but the Dems are getting everything they wanted -- closing Gitmo, ending torture, Fair Pay Act, repeal family planning gag order.

And don't say that removing the family planning issue from the stimulus is caving. That never should have been there in the first place. That will be in another bill within 3 months and the repugs won't have a ready made point of ridicule.

[Progress08]

Podesta nailed it perfectly. Obama is extending his hand the republiklan party is swatting it away because the only unified position in the party for now is to bring Obama's administration to grinding halt by any means necessary.