Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Obama Tries to Charm Conservative Pundits into Submission

From the Chicago Sun Times:
President-elect Barack Obama held an unannounced dinner Tuesday night at the $19 million home of conservative columnist George Will...

Two other conservative columnists -- William Kristol and the New York Times' David Brooks -- also were spotted there, the report said.

Some Bloggers wondered if right-wing radio guru Rush Limbaugh was among the guests.
That rumor was based on the following tidbit posted on Mr. Limbaugh's website:
"Obama asked for ideas to save the economy, Rush had some good ones on Monday, and Tuesday he's [Rush] mysteriously in Washington… coincidence?"
But the rumor was patently false.

Limbaugh traveled to Washington to attend a Medal of Freedom awards dinner at the White House.

He also had lunch with President Bush in the afternoon.

Apparently, the Maha Rushie had better things to do with his time than to let himself be charmed by the Messiah. For as the New Republic points out, the dinner meeting was nothing but a shrewd maneuver on Obama's part:
Obama's... certainly not going to make any new promises to appease the right. And a little personal charm is sure to buy him a few pulled punches among the columns and punditry of these men...
The Daily Kos agrees:
"Let him try to work his charm with that crowd!"
However, Obama never did get a chance to work his charm with Mr. Limbaugh. And that's a good thing. I shudder to think what kind of sparks would be flying if the Maha Rushie was caught breaking bread with the Messiah!

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