Is Obama Selling Out to the Right?

Everyone should calm down. Barack Obama's dinner with George F. Will, William Kristol, David Brooks, and Charles Krauthammer doesn't mean that he's selling out to the right. Quite the contrary. It indicates that Obama is completing the job of detaching the conservative intellectual elite from the GOP itself.

Kristol, Brooks, and Krauthammer are all neoconservatives. Krauthammer was a speechwriter for vice-president Walter Mondale during the Carter administration. He moved right. Brooks has been making conciliatory noises about Obama for much of the past year, and barely qualifies as a conservative any longer. George F. Will, a traditional conservative, has been denouncing George W. Bush for years. Talking with them is a shrewd move on Obama's part. It wouldn't even be surprising if some neocons (re)defect to the Democratic party.

No, what's remains troubling isn't Obama, but the reaction of the Senate leadership to his presidency. Something has gone deeply awry when Obama has to threaten to issue a veto on Tuesday to Democrats, warning that he will not allow them to prevent him from using another $350 billion in bailout funds. It's amazing that the Democrats, who rolled over for George W. Bush for much of eight years, including passing his prohibitively costly tax cuts early in his first term, have now suddenly found the courage to oppose a president who comes from their own ranks.

Envy? Bitterness? Whatever the reason, it's a PR disaster as well as an ominous portent for future relations with the Obama administration. It would be a sad irony if some leading conservative intellectual Obamacons, disgusted with the turn that the GOP took in the past election, turned out to be more sympathetic to the president-elect than his own party.

Comments

[MAH1952]

Reagan was elected in 1980 because of many reasons from the seeming failure of Carters policies to bad economic times. He was president while the turnaround occurred but two important events impacted his presidency. He was elected in part thanks to Iran for holding the hostages until he got in office and secondly by his appealing to the basest economic interests of Americans. Remember GREED IS GOOD? WE are in the situation we are in right now because of Reaganomics to which he eagerly gave his name. At first I supported him but was one of those who changed sides when I saw where the country was going.

[MAH1952]

It's the difference between liberals and neocons. George W. wouldn't give the time of day to anyone who was not one of his acolytes. But being a liberal Obama reaches out to friends and foes. It's why that creature Ann Coulter gets on the View (which I will no longer watch) to air her hateful views while you don't see Fox inviting anyone not a neocon on their program. It's why the neocons fellow travellers the Bolsheviks were able to overthrow the Kerensky gov't and give us almost three quarters of a century of communism. Obama was elected by a certian segment of the population and that is who he needs to give his attention. Kristol especially is killing time till he shows his true (I LOVE SARAH PALIN) colors.

[FaceYourFears]

Only time will tell....

[Imagine]

we need to clean House and Senate of those who would seek to prevent Obama from carrying out the will of the people.

[bosse]

Amen just for few minutes of fame, some senators and congressmen, misbehave. Please be warned people are watching. In safe districts these guys could be replaced by younger wiser people representatives. Let us helpour new President in any way we can to get us out of the past 8 years misery and diasaters. Both Republicans and fake democrats, beware, how a slew of do nothing, congressmen were thrown out with their leader. So forget your party philosophy, get behind the leader, give him suggestions, instead of jumping in front of cameras. ktb

[mercuryguy]

So the GOP won't call him the "THE MOST LI BERAL" candidate in 2012 election cycle??

[mercuryguy]

So the GOP won't call him the "THE MOST LIBERAL" candidate in 2012 election cycle??

[Golfer59]

I like Obama and I voted for Hillary for this very reason. Obama likes to COMPROMISE way to much for my liking. What progressive idea will Obama compromise away to get along with Republicans??

[WorkingClass]

Intellectual elite? Hahahahahahaha!

[mnyegele]

I find nothing wrong or objectionable with Obama meeting with conservatives. If that helps implement his proposals - great. All along we KNEW that Obama was a pragmatist. We KNEW that Obama was a sort of a "centrist". We KNEW (or should have known) that Obama seeks consensus and tends to be somewhat cautious, consulting many people before deciding on a course of action. There is everything right about this way of doing business and we should support him. We need to tell the Congress to get their act together.

[themodernleader]

Actions speak louder then words. Obama's selection of financial players to determine the fate of our economy is of the utmost import. Financial interests have virtually destroyed our economy. Now those same interests are being employed by Obama to put it back together again. That plan won't work.

[BlueStateDave]

Please people, get a grip! Obama hasn't even been inaugurated yet and eveyone is jumping all over him because they think he isn't cowtowing to their parochial desires. He isn't going to dance to the tune of the left wing, the centrists or the right exclusively. He represents a wide range of opinion and he has definitely shown himself to be a pragmatist and not an idealogue.
And yes, it would be very upsetting if the Congress decided to get some backbone now and thwart Obama after caving in to Bush for eight years. But they are, after all, a co-equal branch of government and are not there just to do the bidding of the President, no matter who he is. In this case, however, I would not be too concerned. It will all work out OK.

[DrBillo1]

keep watching the actions of our next President--he is beginning to forget why many of us voted for him--stopping war and indicting the constitution law breakers(b­ush,cheney­,rumsfeld etc) --forgive and forget is not the proper way to bring justice for all the crimes committed by the bush years-justice is not revenge,if Obama can't face up to it get someone who can---

[JMBrodie]

Can we at least wait until Tuesday?

[idest]

You can please some people some of the time but you can't please all of the people all of the time.

[alabaman]

I think Congress during the "war years" of the Bush Presidency was intimidated by him, and feared opposing him was unpatriotic. Looks like they finally have grown some gonads. But BO shouldn't let them intimidate him--he was right to threaten a veto. BO nees to assert authority, otherwise Congress, ashamed of rolling over for Bush for most of his presidency, will try to overcompensate and needlessly hinder BO's plans. It was a Democratic Congress, remember, that rejected Pres. Clinton's Health Plan.

[Imperial61]

II admire Obama for having the intellectual vigor for meeting with people of all viewpoints­.Ronald Reagan (Whom Obama admires)did so many times throughout his career with great reults for himself,anf I want Obama to succed in every way.Howeve­r,Charles Krauthammer belongs to the dangerous crowd of neo-conservatives who pushed for the Iraq war,and an overreachong and dangerous world agenda!Mr.­Bush was converted to there cause and has stubbornly adheared to there corse till the very last days of his horrific presdfency­.There intellectual forebearers got us into other wars when clingig to the Democrat part.Kept Nixon in Vietnam longer,and almost wrecked Reagan whrn pushing for the Marine deployment in Lebanon,and arms for hostages within is administra­tion.With the neo-conservatives as his froends,Obama won't need enemies.Ho­pefully he is adhearing to another old cliche;Keep your friends close,and enemies closer!

[Gusto2]

The reality is that a lot of these Democrats that are opposing Obama now, NEVER opposed GW Bush. They are very jealous and are trying to look touch to their white constituents. What they don't know is that WE THE PEOPLE will get rid of them too. We will just encourage more progressive Democrats to run againts them in their primaries. They should remember the Lieberman campaign versus Greg Lamont. The democratic party is more progressive, so all those so called "blue dogs" best start acting right and get with the program of we will find them a kennel at a shelter near thier home.

[rejoiceinit]

Agreed. Move On already has seen the potential damage these backward Dems would do and we all need to get organized and ready for battle.

[reggieb]

good post

[flossophy]

Here's a thought, feel free to use this one:

Perhaps our economic condition is so bad that Obama needs to abandon the lef-tist aspects of his policies..­. because they don't work. History has shown this quite clearly.

Perhaps Obama wants to adopt more Rea-gan-like policies..­. which led to an unprecedented economic expansion that lasted 25 years.

Obama is an intelligent person... I think if he really cares about the country (and his legacy), he'll want to make sure his policies work. Which means consulting with the group of people who know how to do it.

Perhaps he's asking for some cover from the right... Obama will have to re-package cons-ervative prin-ciples in ce-ntrist or lef-tist rhet-oric, so as to not dis-enfran-chise his b-ase.

If the rig-ht keeps quiet about it, then both sides will win...

[FearlessFreep]

The 1980s expansion was due not to Reagan's policies but to falling oil prices. When oil became expensive again, boom turned to bust.

[flossophy]

wow... that's a first.

So the largest 25 year eco-nomic ex-pansion (in hu-man his-tory) had nothing to do with Re-a-gan's poli-cies?

I'd like to know where you got that gem... The re-vis-ioni-sts must be hard at work.

Fearless, don't fear joining us in the real world... it's a pretty nice place.

[miltonista]

wow... that's a first.

So the largest 25 year economic expansion (in human history) had nothing to do with Rea-gan's policies?

I'd like to know where you got that gem... The revisi-onists must be hard at work.

Fearless, don't fear joining us in the real world... it's a pretty nice place.

[TomTheAlmostUgly]

You are so deluded, I don't know where to begin.