PEBO to Honor McCain at Pre-Inaugural Dinner
EmailThe president-elect may have said that election rival Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has "tired" and "old" ideas — and McCain’s campaign may have said that President-elect Obama has palled around with terrorists — but Mr. Obama is honoring his former nemesis in a pre-Inaugural dinner, one of three the president-elect is hosting to honor public officials who have reached across party lines.
In three separate dinners the night before the inauguration, Mr. Obama will honor McCain, Vice President-elect Sen. Joe Biden and Gen. Colin Powell (Ret.).
"In these times of great challenge and great change, leadership requires rising above the same old narrow partisanship," said Obama in a statement. "Each of these distinguished Americans has spent his life in service to his country, at each and every moment placing the interests of America before issues of political party. That is precisely the spirit of common purpose we need as we begin the work ahead."
The dinners will take place at the National Building Museum, Union Station and the Hilton Washington.
- jpt
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What….no blank check under the Lobster/seafood stew?
Posted by: commrat72 | January 10, 2009, 12:35 pm 12:35 pm
Is one of those dinner locations a train station? Sounds like they may be skimping a bit.
Kind of like having a wedding reception at the Zaro’s Bakery in the Port Authority.
Posted by: Danny | January 10, 2009, 12:38 pm 12:38 pm
Well, just kidding actually.
It is a nice idea.
Posted by: Danny | January 10, 2009, 12:43 pm 12:43 pm
McCain being honored by a Democrat… There’s a Shocker! Why can’t he just drop the R and take the D that he truly is??? You can keep him, we won’t miss him. Hey, you want Huck, Romney and Fred too? Don’t forget your pal Rudy, we’ll take pennies on the dollar for the trash. We’d be much obliged if you take this scum off our hands in the GOP. Think about it, and give us a call. Operators are standing by.
Posted by: please! | January 10, 2009, 12:47 pm 12:47 pm
I’m feeling stuffed just reading about the pre-inaugural and inaugural dinners. Obama is going to have to really bone up on those work outs afterwards
Posted by: kat | January 10, 2009, 1:13 pm 1:13 pm
Colin’s Powell’s quest to repair his legacy takes another step.
That’s the only thing he cares about.
Posted by: Dood | January 10, 2009, 1:17 pm 1:17 pm
Hmmmm! You see McCain is not Conservative Republican. He sound like a Democrat. It about time for him to retire. I think Mr. Obama is taken advantage of McCain.
Posted by: anonymous | January 10, 2009, 1:22 pm 1:22 pm
It would be awesome if McCain demands the eat at 4:30 pm.
Posted by: BertieW | January 10, 2009, 1:28 pm 1:28 pm
I don’t have no respect for Colin Powell. Powell has been taken advantage of the Republican Party. He didn’t do a good job as the Secretary of State.Condi Rice did a better job than him. If Hillary Clinton does become the Secretary of State, it going to be a real problem between her, Obama, and Bill Clinton.
Posted by: anonymous | January 10, 2009, 1:32 pm 1:32 pm
anonymous—”I don’t have no [sic] respect for Colin Powell. Powell has been taken advantage of the Republican Party.” i think you have it twisted. Bush and especially Cheney, sent Powell to the UN to make a case for war. Powell was a great general and great American who was manipulated like a pawn by Cheney. it ruined his reputation and he did the honorable thing and immediately left the adminstration when he realized that was how they like doing business.
Posted by: Paul Wall | January 10, 2009, 2:01 pm 2:01 pm
anonymous—McCain was who the Republicans chose. if he’s not conservative enough either 1) there are not enough right-wing conservatives to choose a nominee they want or 2) he was very conservative and Republicans seemed to love him and Palin and then blamed the loss on him.
Posted by: Paul Wall | January 10, 2009, 2:04 pm 2:04 pm
however you feel about Obama or McCain it’s a nice gesture.
Posted by: Paul Wall | January 10, 2009, 2:06 pm 2:06 pm
I think this a wonderful gesture to move the two parties closer… it is called respect! Obama has a lot of class – more in his little finger than most Republicans in their whole body!
Colin Powell is a great American hero. He was used and abused by the Bush administration for their own personal gain on the Iraq war. I respect the man and wish he were a part of Obama’s administration. Powell is intelligent, patient and has gained a lot of wisdom from his military days. The Republicans threw Powell under the bus, and shame on them.
I just wish these right-wing religious conservative Republicans would wake up and smell the coffee… Republicans (Bush and his cronies) screwed up this country major big time, and now those same people will be complaining when Obama doesn’t straighten the country out in the first 100 days. So, those of you complaining – go live with George in Texas!
Posted by: Sandi | January 10, 2009, 2:09 pm 2:09 pm
anonymous- I agree with you regarding Colin Powell. He is the opportunist who has tried to grab chances that evade his responsibilities from against failure to find mass chemical arms in Iraq War. Thus, Colin Powell has frequently decried Rumsfield, Condi Rice, even commender-in-Chief, George W Bush and Republican Party.
I have respected John McCain who is true
American hero, a man of men, and dignity
which Obama and Bill Cliton don’t have.
Even Bill Cliton said that ” I like and
respect John McCain what he has done for America” at public during the last campaign.
Posted by: Janet-NY | January 10, 2009, 2:18 pm 2:18 pm
“We” as is well known, had all “our” troops and equipment ready weeks before 9/11 to invade Afghanistan. “We” knew years in advance that “we” were going into Iraq.
Posted by: ProudPrimate | January 10, 2009, 2:36 pm 2:36 pm
Biden gets a burger at Union station, I bet. Then he and Obama hop on the train. Probably the National Museum Building dinner will be with McCain, since, well, McCain’s a bit on the historical side. Powell is probably the one who gets the best eats at the Washington Hilton-he’ll be the one most deferred to with the dining.
Posted by: kat | January 10, 2009, 2:57 pm 2:57 pm
Enough of this symbolism and show and get on to the pressing work of the nation and regain the lost confidence in government. Of course, McCain will say the fundamentals of the economy are strong for himself and his family and the costly surge has worked for now.
Posted by: gjkotw01 | January 10, 2009, 3:36 pm 3:36 pm
I hope Secretary of State Clinton will make a break from Mr. Obama and go on to endorse a Republican candidate the same way Secretary of State Powell breaks off with Mr. Bush and endorsed a Democrat candidate.
Posted by: young_voter | January 10, 2009, 3:57 pm 3:57 pm
Enough of this symbolism and show and get on to the pressing work of the nation and regain the lost confidence in government.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
A significant part of that work will involve Obama working across party lines, so actually, there is a lot more than symbolism to the dinners with Powell and McCain.
Posted by: kat | January 10, 2009, 4:48 pm 4:48 pm
57,000,000,000 didn’t vote for John McCain they voted against obama. The media gave us 3 left wingers for candidates this year obama, clinton and mccain. It won’t happen again. the newspapers are going broke and soon the layoffs will become and every day event in The TV industry.
Posted by: bob | January 10, 2009, 5:29 pm 5:29 pm
Well, as poor of a campaign John ran, I’m sure Obama is happy!
I don’t know why McCain doesn’t just jump ship and join the democrat party for real! He agrees with almost every one of their positions!
Look at all of the bills over the years with his name on them. They all have a radical liberal as a co-sponsor!
If it hadn’t been for Sarah Palin, Obama would have won a real landslide, not the imaginary one libs think he won!
McCain’s campaign totally mishandled Palin. Then when word got out just how incompetent they were, they tried to throw her under the bus.
Well, her post election results prove it was all McCain’s fault.
I can’t wait for 2012 when she runs against Obama, and does it her way, with her ideas.
It will be a really fun campaign.
Posted by: Gary | January 10, 2009, 5:43 pm 5:43 pm
I have much respect for Colin Powell. But he sat up there in front of the entire UN and either (A) blatantly lied or (B) was telling the truth.
Posted by: Kyle Salerno | January 10, 2009, 6:19 pm 6:19 pm
Good. All 3 of them make me want to wretch!
Posted by: Lori | January 10, 2009, 6:19 pm 6:19 pm
The left went nuts when Bush had inaugural events saying he should donate the money that was going to be spent to the poor, how times have changed.
Posted by: Kirk g. | January 10, 2009, 6:32 pm 6:32 pm
If it hadn’t been for Sarah Palin, Obama would have won a real landslide, not the imaginary one libs think he won!
_________________________________
Beating McCain by over 10 Million votes and 192 Electoral votes classifies as a landslide and the statistics don’t make it imaginary. Hate to burst your bubble.
Nominate Palin for 2012 and watch Obama win by even bigger margins. More Republicans jumped ship over Palin yet you want to make her the party anchor.?.? Fascinating.
20% of conservatives and 60% of moderates voted for Obama
Posted by: Paige | January 10, 2009, 7:09 pm 7:09 pm
Some of this stuff is pretty funny. A couple of months ago John McCain was the Republican party’s knight in shining armor, now pretty much every Repub here wants to throw him under the bus–the man they (the RNC) chose to lead their party in the election. Now that he lost, it’s all his fault and he’s a bum. Maybe part of it actually is his fault-he did choose that “Wacko from Wasilla” to be his running mate after knowing her what, 15 minutes?
Posted by: Larry | January 10, 2009, 7:11 pm 7:11 pm
Kyle Salerno—i think the administration gave Powell a bogus dossier and sent him to the UN. i’m sure he believed at the time he was telling the truth. once he realized that the WMD was a sham he resigned. too bad Bush got his war, too bad for all of us, especially the soldiers and the families of soldiers.
i think that was why Powell was so upset. this affected the lives of American soldiers and to him that meant a great deal. Cheney, specifically, could not possibly have cared less.
Posted by: Paul Wall | January 10, 2009, 7:25 pm 7:25 pm
Why do people keep ragging on the war in Iraq……we’ve won!….the media won’t tell u cause they want the usurper to get into office first & then give him the credit………..READ PEOPLES BE INFORMED!……Sarah isn’t going away so face it & if u think Clinton will support any other woman for president……I got some junk I can sell u for antiques……
Posted by: caroltate2 | January 10, 2009, 8:06 pm 8:06 pm
Palin saved McCain’s reputation in the Election. Without her he would have lost in a landslide. Look at it this way who do the great majority of Repubs follow and respect now? Palin of course. Palin has the courage and determination to lead the Repubs to their next Presidential victory and she has the biggest dedicated popular support, outside President.
Palin’s here to stay!
Posted by: Oliva | January 10, 2009, 8:07 pm 8:07 pm
people will begin to see what the usurper is really up to & then ur bubble will burst!………
Posted by: caroltate2 | January 10, 2009, 8:10 pm 8:10 pm
And yes the war is won in Iraq. Our PM past John Howard has gone to Washington to receive an award from GB for his [our] staunch support during the war. Credit to GB for going against the majority of his people to stay the course until the job was done. Imagine the situation America would be in now if GB pulled out of Iraq before the war was won. More 9/11s maybe? The most unpopular President has paid quite a price to secure that victory.
Posted by: Oliva | January 10, 2009, 8:14 pm 8:14 pm
Palin may make some neocons happy (remember all the ones that she didn’t?), but you can not win an election without independents and some crossover votes. You can love Palin all you want, but if that is the choice of the Republican party, they are in HUGE trouble.
Posted by: Paige | January 10, 2009, 8:19 pm 8:19 pm
This is class. Great Obama for inviting Great Americans at a diner. No Palin the governor of the tundra, No war in Irak, but puting America first, that is an admirable gesture.
Posted by: BKMC | January 10, 2009, 10:58 pm 10:58 pm
This is a good sign. I hope that Obama will continue to work with McCain towards bipartisan solutions to the major challenges facing our country.
Posted by: Laurel Federbush | January 10, 2009, 11:03 pm 11:03 pm
So if Obama and McCain buddy up and Republicans don’t accept Johnny Mac as one of their own, does BHO still get credit towards his Bipartisan Merit Badge?
Posted by: tjp | January 11, 2009, 12:33 am 12:33 am
i think it is a great idea to have this on MLK day. my only problem would be if he was not planning on a dinner also honoring Julian Bond, John Lewis, and Andrew Young…he is going to have a dinner honoring these GREAT men on MLK day right? I sure hope so.
Posted by: Lisa H. | January 11, 2009, 1:21 am 1:21 am
What the hell does Sarah Palin have to do with any of this. The left is obsessed with her.
Posted by: Peace Train | January 11, 2009, 1:35 am 1:35 am
Sorry to be so trivial — but could you give a little more detail on how you schedule three different dinners to honor three different people at three different locations on the same day? And without protocol problems??
Posted by: Margaret | January 11, 2009, 8:53 am 8:53 am
I agree, what in the world does Sarah Palin have to do with anything concerning this event.
The left are no obsessed, it is the radical right wing who are trying to cleanse her soiled image
Posted by: Kathy | January 11, 2009, 12:31 pm 12:31 pm
Oh God…..I hope Elvis will be there!
Posted by: commrat72 | January 11, 2009, 3:06 pm 3:06 pm
“Oh God…..I hope Elvis will be there!”
No, sorry. Sen McCain has requested Pat Boone instead.
Posted by: kat | January 11, 2009, 9:32 pm 9:32 pm
Dear Paige,
you are wrong. If it weren’t for
Sarah Palin, McCain would not have had
as much support. She is more articulate than he is and smarter too.
She will run in 2012, maybe even against
Hillary someday ….She has more
experience than Obama does as of now!
and will keep getting more!!
Posted by: christine | January 12, 2009, 4:01 pm 4:01 pm
John McCain would have been a better
president than Obama.
Posted by: christine | January 12, 2009, 4:02 pm 4:02 pm
It’s all to make Obama look like he’s “genuine”. How “genuine” is he going to be with all the promises he’s made to the American Public?? He called for smaller government – well, folks, guess what – it’s tripled in size.
Posted by: jill | January 13, 2009, 3:34 pm 3:34 pm
Most of your guys need to get a life. The man is our president, like it or not. He is trying to govern in a post-partisan manner, and you idiots are still voicing the same separatist and angry rhetoric that gets us nowhere. It was a great gesture. Accept it at face value and get let it go. That is the problem with this country. Idiot citizens rant and rave about nonsense and spew hatred and nasty rhetoric time and again. Like my mother used to say, if you don’t have something positive to say, shut the hell up.
Posted by: gary | January 14, 2009, 7:18 pm 7:18 pm