TV to Watch: Obama vs. House GOP - UPDATED

President Barack Obama spoke at the GOP House Issues Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, January 29, 2010.

The Atlantic's Heather Horn wrote, "The political story of the afternoon is President Obama's address to the House Republican retreat and the riveting Q&A session that followed. Commentators are delighted by the frank exchanges and unscripted debate that unfolded. Several are comparing it to the famous rough-and-tumble of British parliamentary politics. In fact, both liberals and conservatives want to see more, and there's a distinct bipartisan feeling that this may have been one of the president's better moves."

Here's The President's opening remarks:


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Here's the Q&A:

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Salon's Mike Madden wrote,

The whole thing [Q&A] basically went like [this]: Republican asks obnoxious question rooted in Glenn Beck-ian talking points; Obama swats it away, makes the questioner look silly, and then smiles at the end. It got so bad, in fact, that Fox News cut away from the event before it was over. Democratic operatives around Washington watching it had pretty much the same reaction: "Where the hell has this guy been?" One source said GOP aides probably wished they'd spoken to John McCain "about what happened to him in the presidential debates" before they broadcast the event. "It's quite a show," a White House official said, apparently going for the same deadpan tone the president was.

At the conference, The President reiterated his State of the Union address plea for bipartisanship on health care and other economic issues: The confernce transcript; The full video of the conference.


I suspect that the "conservatives" hoping for more of this sort of interaction between the administration and the GOP are thinking conservatives, not the common-sense conservatives ideologues who get their news talking points from Fox. Good night, Mrs. Palin.


Update: Replaced the YouTube intro with CBS' original. Added Q&A from MSNBC.

Update: PolitiFact has fact-checked the Q&A and found Representative Price's assertion that there was a consensus in the administration that Republicans were trying to obstruct healthcare reform — were failing to offer ideas and solutions — was a true statement. PolitiFact did not find that the President's response to Price's initial question was false. The President truthfully answered Price's question. Essentially, after The President smacked-down Price's assertion that in his State of the Union address the President had said that Republicans hadn't offered any ideas or solutions, Price began whining about the administration's characterization of the Republicans' obstructionism during the legislative process.

Update: Andrew Sullivan asks his conservative and libertarian friends to look at the healthcare issue pragmatically rather than ideologically.

FBI/U.S. Marshalls Bust Conservative Activists - UPDATED

Four conservative activists were arrested for attempting to interfere with the telephones in Senator Mary Landrieu's New Orleans office. One of them is James O'Keefe, who posed as a pimp to target the community organizing group ACORN. Another is Robert Flanagan, the son of acting U.S. Atty. Bill Flanagan in Shreveport. A third is Joseph Basel. O'Keefe was in Landrieu's office when Flanagan and Basel arrived, claiming to be telephone repairmen. Stan Dai was not in the Senator's office, but was arrested, later, for assisting the others in planning, coordinating and preparing the operation.

Bill Flanagan has been serving as Acting U.S. Attorney since Donald Washington, who was appointed by George W. Bush, resigned on Monday, January 18th, 2010. President Obama nominated Stephanie Finley to replace Washington on Wednesday, January 20, 2010. She must be confirmed by the Senate before she can take the post.


Talking Points Memo has a story. TPM's rendering of the FBI's affidavit is here.

Andrew Brietbart, whose Big Government site published O'Keefe's pimp video states, "We have no knowledge about or connection to any alleged acts and events involving James O'Keefe at Senator Mary Landrieu's office." But, later, "I pay O'Keefe a salary."

Arrestees share a common experience as young ideologues writing for conservative publications.

The Leadership Institute.

The Pelican Institute.

Update: Bill Flanagan, William J. Flanagan, was a First Assistant U.S. Attorney, before becoming Acting U.S. Attorney in the wake of Washington's resignation. Flanagan is not a presidential appointee. William J. Flanagan, First AUSA. Is he this William J. Flanagan, a partner in a D.C. law firm?

Update: The arrestees were just trying to help. Sure they were.

Update: Full TPM coverage is here.

Update: The Times-Picayune broke the story and may have updates.