The Politico reports on Obama’s efforts to begin the administration with a bipartisan spirit. He’s met McCain, is honoring his former opponent and Colin Powell at events, went to dinner at George Will’s home, and he’s regularly keeping in touch with the GOP congressional leadership.
The article also notes that Virginia’s Eric Cantor, the House Minority Whip, is high on the list of GOP consultees. Cantor has met with Obama and routinely keeps in touch with his former House colleage Rahm Emanuel by cellphone and blackberry.
“I have met Rahm and spoken with him several times and he said ‘Look, you need to understand- working in a bipartisan manner is something that the president-elect takes seriously,” Cantor noted. It has thus far been a very efficient process.”
The 2008 election debacle for the GOP has given Cantor the opportunty to become one of the most visible and well known Republicans in the country. In the weeks following Obama’s election, he’ll quickly become one of the party chief spokespersons in the national media in response to Obama’s economic reform package.
It is an extraordinary opportunity for Cantor. We’ll be able to see fairly soon how adeptly he can manuever in the roiling waters of Republican internal politics.
It would be fascinating to know how the blackberry friendship of Eric and Rahm develops.
I hope they save their messages for the historical record.
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