Over Drinks With Donors, Obama Recounts Lunch With Republicans
By JACKIE CALMES
SAN FRANCISCO — Hours after President Obama met privately with Senate Republicans at the Capitol on Tuesday, he was here on the West Coast, regaling Democratic donors with his version of the 75-minute luncheon squabble.
Making light of the parties’ differences over just about every issue and of his nearly dashed hopes for a post-partisan era,
the president said he told the Republicans, “The day has passed when I expected this to be a full partnership.”Mr. Obama mischievously said the luncheon in Washington was closed at the Senate Republicans’ request — unlike an earlier such session with House Republicans in which, by most accounts, Mr. Obama got the better of the televised argument.
“We agreed to let the press in on that one. This one not so much,” he quipped, to laughter from an audience of roughly 1,000 people who had contributed $250 or $500 each.
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Mr. Obama said that in his time in office he had made decisions unpopular with his progressive base, and he urged Republicans to do the same.
Mr. Obama’s point about disappointing some in his liberal base had been illustrated moments earlier when a man yelled out, “Move faster on ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ ” — a protest of the president’s delay in keeping his promise to get Congress to repeal the military policy against openly gay and lesbian service members.
Though the audience initially tried to drown out the man’s words by chanting the Obama campaign slogan “Yes, we can,”
Mr. Obama engaged him, suggesting that perhaps the same man had interrupted a fund-raiser in Los Angeles last month. Mr. Obama advised the man to buy a ticket to infiltrate an event for someone who does not share his views.
“We are working with Congress as we speak to roll back ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ ” Mr. Obama said. Move faster? “I’m dealing with Congress here,” he said. “Come on!”more...
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/over-drinks-with-donors-obama-recounts-lunch-with-republicans/?src=twt&twt=thecaucus