Congress, what happened to bipartisanship?
Throughout his campaign, Barack Obama promised to make bipartisanship a centerpiece of his administration. And ever since his inauguration, the President has followed through on that pledge. With the nomination of New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg to be commerce secretary, Obama has now named three Republicans to cabinet positions. In late January, in the midst of congressional debate over the stimulus package, the President met with Republican House leaders to try to gain their support. And earlier this week, Obama personally negotiated potential cuts to the Senate’s version of the stimulus bill, even inviting a few key Republican senators to the Oval Office for one-on-one meetings on Wednesday. On Capitol Hill, though, it seems as if lawmakers from both parties are ignoring his call for bipartisanship. To confront the enormous challenges we face, this must change. Witness what has happened with the stimulus measure. Even before he took office, Obama called for a $775 billion stimulus pac
