Yes I do believe the Democrats forced him out. He stood up for what he believed in and they couldn't take it. He has been in office 30 years and is I'll. He's done his term and then some. Leave him alone. Let some one else fight the corruption that's going on. Some one will clean up this government and it won't be long in coming. Even the dems have had enough of all this rubbish. They won't put up with much more. It's to. Dispicable and out of touch with all America is about. God help America. Give us back our great country.  View

"The president also named each of the members, whether a senator or a congressman, naming those Republicans, giving them credit for the ideas. ... Those are important signals to send to Republicans when the president says he wants to work in a bipartisan way." You know the US government is run by 12-year-olds when the opposing party is giddy that someone else gave them credit. Is there any word in Washington about the Republicans or the Democrats taking their ball and going home?  View

Obama continually seems to be making steps towards bipartisanship, just as he promised. I don't think it is for show when he continually goes out of his way to reach out to both Republicans and Democrats.  View

The Democrats appear to have a "go big or go home" mentality with healthcare, and it seems the Republicans are more than willing to let 'em go home.  View

Connor you couldn't be more wrong. Every time the Republicans "move to the center" and try to be more like Democrats they lose. (GHWB in 1992, John McCain, Bob Dole). When we put forth a solid, unapologetic conservative like Ronald Reagan we win big. As Glenn pointed out, more than 40% of Americans call themselves conservative.  View

I agree; regardless of what side they're on, the Senate is all over the place. I think the democrats might also be getting frustrated that they've lose power. People swing back and forth between the next person who promises change. I don't think Democrats are necessarily "drowning" alone; Republicans are going down with them.  View

I think it was already a sign of Democrats "drowning" when they lost Kennedy's seat, but I desperately hope that more don't jump ship...especially the real ones.  View

I think the Democrats want this televised because it makes the process more transparent, like has been promised. There has been a lot of talk of Democratic partisanship behind the scenes trying to get bills passed, at least this will bring them to the foreground. I don't know if anyone really has anything to gain from televising it though. Like Perino said, the major stories coming away are going to be people's behaviors, not the outcome.  View

I'm glad to hear Politico's stance on this issue; it seems hypocritical for this "grassroots" party to hold such an expensive convention. They shouldn't force Democrats to "reevaluate spending priorities" until they evaluate their own monetary goals.  View

It certainly seems as though Obama is using this to shift focus away from the struggles Democrats are encountering with their Health Care reform bill. Hopefully this endeavor can be more success (or at least, in a quicker fashion).  View