After President Obama's performance, topping lion-tamer Gunther-Gebel-Williams at the GOP retreat last week, maybe it is time to trump keynote speaker Sarah Palin with a visit to the mad tea party.
Mr. Obama is the master of the unexpected. If you walk the walk down the middle of the political road, what better way to address your harshest critics than to address your harshest critics.
If the President can go toe-to-toe with John Boehner, the tea baggers are like multiplying him about 15,000 times.
Safety might be a big concern for the Secret Service. After all, the only thing that Republican Congressmen want to stick in Mr. Obama's back are dug-in heels.
The move has historically always been good politics. Whether you call them tea baggers, plebians, the proletariat, peasants, or just the hoi polloi, at some point leaders of civilized societies stand before their detractors and hear them out.
We know that Mr. Obama can think on his feet without a teleprompter. We know that he is unflappable even when he got his share of barbs tossed his way on the campaign trail.
What the reactionary right needs is a foil, a bogeyman, someone to coalesce their various agendas around. The President has the opportunity, if he offers, to either diffuse much of what non-racial agenda flows amongst the sign-toting commons. He will not be able to change his skin color, the lament of many of the Fox-frightened white folk out there, but on other subjects, and to the whole "movement" in general, he could deliver a very effective message.
If they do not allow him to come, it destroys the movement's political credibility. It could be easily argued that their unwillingness to hear out someone of opposing viewpoint is historically un-American, and emblematic of the President's observation last week to the GOP that turning their back on agenda that they have endorsed in the past on all fronts, just for the purpose of stonewalling in a vain attempt to regain power, disenfranchises the very people who put them into office because it removes their voice in public policy and discourse.
Should they let the President of the United States speak to their assembly, though, it will have a profound impact. Granted, most of the people attending, from the birthers to the insurance-lobby-stampeded, have a shell of blissful ignorance that is unlikely to move off of center much. Some might see a little reason, but, more importantly, such a visit, or even the offer to visit, conveys the very anti-Bush thought that our national leaders should have no fear of a discourse with their most vocal critics.
Mr. Obama is unique in modern political history, and possibly one of a handful of leaders in world history, in that his pattern of engagement with the opposition is not hostile, or dismissive, as a Reagan, Nixon, or Clinton might have been with their critics. The President has demonstrated the open-hand of a man who wants to bring change to a world that is perpetually driven by fear, uncertainty, doubt, and grubbing self-interest.
The irony is that he has demonstrated the most Christian behavior to alleged Christians who are not interested in the common good, or wanting all of our citizens cared for, but in the maintenance of a white-dominant patrician culture to which they seem to think, from the porches of their single-wides and row-house stoops, they seem to have the God-given right to belong, at the expense of anyone of color, of different birth, or different political or social agenda.
The message that goes out by way of the media show to the majority of Americans, the calmer, more reasonable center, is that the President is confident enough in his agenda that he is willing to hear out his worst detractors, and have a dialogue with them, even if they spend half of the time trying to get him to pull his laminated birth certificate out of his wallet.
To be Alice for a day at the Mad Tea Party would be a great use of the President's time.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.