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Is Obama meeting with Rush Limbaugh tonight? Update: Nope
Hot Air » Top Picks — ... Sounds nutty, I know, but Ambinder breaks news that The One’s dining with “conservative opinion leaders” in Maryland, evidently at George Will’s house. Among the attendees: Bill Kristol, David Brooks, and … anyone else? Coincidentally , I got an e-mail from a reader shortly after noon noting that Limbaugh had a surprise guest host today who spent the beginning of the show dropping hints that Rush had been called away to urgent business in D.C. and that it might have to do with something he said yesterday about giving Obama advice. I ignored it — but now they’re ...

Rush Limbaugh Meets With Obama?
Flopping Aces — First there was this tidbit on Rush Limbaugh: Speculation swirled all over the EIB: Obama asked for ideas to save the economy, Rush had some good ones on Monday, and Tuesday he’s mysteriously in Washington… coincidence? And now it’s confirmed. Well sortof. Obama Dines With Conservative Opinion Leaders It’s true. He motorcaded to a house in Maryland this evening, and if the press pool report is accurate, he is breaking bread with William Kristol and David Brooks. (If Brooks and ...

People Really Don't Get It
Riehl World View — ... I'm somewhat surprised at any surprise over this and don't think it's much of a big deal. However, it does somewhat illustrate a point I am amazed that so many people somehow seem to miss in governmental goings on over several years. More blog coverage ...

Keep Your Enemies Close
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan — Bill Kristol gets to dine with Obama. Hugh Hewitt wasn't available? Moulitsas is bemused. Crowley sees the logic. ...

Hullabaloo — High Level Diplomacy by digby Did he agree to do this without preconditions? He motorcaded to a house in Maryland this evening, and if the press pool report is accurate, he is breaking bread with William Kristol and David Brooks. (If Brooks and Kristol seem to be unusually briefed about Obama's thinking, you'll know why.) CBS News's Dan Raviv tells the pool that the house, on Grafton Street in Chevy Chase, belongs to George Will. (Unless he's moved.) That's nice. But lest you think he's not being fair and ...

Obama Dines With Conservative Opinion Leaders: Kristol, Brooks, Will
Democratic Underground Latest Breaking News — ... (If Brooks and Kristol seem to be unusually briefed about Obama's thinking, you'll know why.) CBS News's Dan Raviv tells the pool that the house, on Grafton Street in Chevy Chase, belongs to George Will. (Unless he's moved.) Tomorrow, I hear Obama has another private meeting with non-Republican opinion columnists. Ellen Moran, the incoming White House communications director, set these meetings up. Again -- establishment opinion matters to the Obama communications team. Read more: http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/01/ob...

Obama, George, Bill, Dave, Chuck... but no Rush
Taylor Marsh — BY TAYLOR MARSH Somehow this just doesn’t move me in the least. Given what Obama said and promised, why wouldn’t he meet with the conservative male heirarchy of wingnut pundit land? ...

No More Mister Nice Blog — ... some in the conservative blogosphere, knowing full well the fury that would have caused among progressives.... See, I would imagine that it would be the other way around -- any righty who accepted an invitation like this would be deemed a collaborationist, a traitor to the insurgent cause, and would immediately be deemed an unperson by the movement right. (If Limbaugh stayed away, I imagine that's why.) (Tomorrow, by the way, Obama's reportedly going to attend another gathering of non-right-wing pundits.) I'm comfortable with tonight's dinner because ...

links for 2009-01-14
FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog — ... (tags: barack_obama gaymarriage gay_politics) Obama Dines With Conservative Opinion Leaders - Will, Kristol and Brooks? He motorcaded to a house in Maryland this evening, and if the press pool report is accurate, he is ...

Obama Dines With The Enemy: Journalists, That Is
Politics Daily — ... Last night, at 6:34 pm, President-elect Barack Obama's motorcade came to a stop in front of an unlikely Maryland address. The occasion was dinner, and the host was none other than George F. Will, one of The Washington Post's conservative columnists. Also waiting in that den of lions were such luminaries as David Brooks, Bill Kristol, and Charles Krauthammer, who, like Will, tend to inhabit distinctly non-liberal portions of the political spectrum. ...

Obama Dines with Brooks, Kristol, Krauthammer, and Will
PoliBlog: A Rough Draft of my Thoughts — ... if anything, because it strikes me as a noteworthy attempt at civility on the part of the president-elect. Now, I know enough about the way politics works to know that such civility is unlikely to last (remember President Bush inviting Ted Kennedy over to the House for movie night?). Still, this is a nice move, if not a politically smart one. If anything, it is probably a good way to launch one’s term: by being nice to those who are going to soon be criticizing you. Marc Ambinder reports that this isn’t the only such party on the agenda: ...

Charm offensive
Political Animal — ... And if it doesn't, Obama wasted a pre-inaugural night, maybe picking up some new credibility from the David Broders of the world for making an effort to engage prominent critics on the other side. All of Obama's talk about bringing people together, hearing competing ideas, building bridges, and disagreeing without being disagreeable is reinforced nicely by a dinner like this one. This was the first dinner with prominent columnists, but it apparently won't be the last. Marc Ambinder reported , "Tomorrow, I hear Obama has another private meeting with non-Republican opinion ...

"Screw Civility: Why Bush-Bashing Should Be Obama's Eeelection Strategy."
Althouse — ... break the chain of hate? Shaffer thinks that's for losers. Keep hate alive. Democrats ran against Herbert Hoover for decades; Republicans kicked around Jimmy Carter for a dozen years. If Bush's successors play their cards right, Democrats could use his legacy as a thumb on their side of the scale for a generation....Because hope and change... that would be such a stupid path to take. Meanwhile, in a more civilized location, Barack Obama is dining with the conservative opinion leaders. ...

Breaking Bread
The Democratic Daily — ... President Elect Barack Obama broke bread last night with a group pf conservative pundits at George Will’s home. Among the pundits reported to have partaked in the bread breaking were the “ ...

Hurl-Blogging The Inaugur-A-Palooza, The Dry Heaves
Jules Crittenden — ... this guy thought he should be putting on for him. Also, he is upset with the president because he is gay. The writer, not the president. No word on whether he intends to hold his sexual preference against the gay-rights ambiguous Obama. I hope Vanity Fair paid happy boy well. Possibly it is in anticipation of this long-awaited payday, seven years on, that the writer is smiling vacuously, and not frowning righteously at the wrongfulness all around him, in the photo of him with Bush. Guess who came to dinner ? Obama dines with neocon Kristol and iffycon Brooks at George Will’s ...