Obama Hosts Bipartisan ‘Timeout’ Dinner at White House

No $100 steaks? I thought that is your favorite party favor Obama. Or is that only reserved for your “friends” and your parties for them.

Did Obama pay for this out of his own pocket? Did Stevie Wonder donate his time and talent? How about the cocktail partys? Tax payer money or more of O’s personal? I could understand one or two famlies a week but 180 guests! Is this going to happen every Wednesday for 4 years? At what cost to us, the people. I think these are fair questions so don’t start ragging on me. I’m just askin!

We’re losing jobs,
and they’re eating cake?
We’re eating from brown bags,
And they make us pay for their parties?

Don’t be so hard on our president. He is only trying to do his best. What does it hurt to include people from both sides of the isle in a dinner party. I notice that alot of Republicans are enjoying eating there.

Oh, sure. I really miss paying all that money to that stupid Bush guy who spent all his time playing country squire in Texas when he wasn’t robbing our country blind or getting us into completely senseless wars. Or riffling through our mail or searching our phone records or pooping on our Constitution.
This was a WORKING dinner, people: Pres Obama greasing the wheels, trying to get these folks together in a congenial atmosphere to break their resistance to cooperating for the good of the country. Money well spent IMO.

Sunlen Miller – I’m sure covering White House dinner parties is a part of your “watchdog” duties. But next time, since so many Americans are out of work, why don’t you tally up an estimate on how much this is costing the American people, that’s news. I could care less of the antics of those attending, at least you didn’t try to guess what designer labels were represented.

I think that Obama tries to use these dinners as a chance to look bi-partisan
when in fact he uses Pelosi to do all the liberal budget work so that it can look like he is some what moderate.
Which we know is not the case. She will take the hit from the liberals while he tries to hold on to the Blue dogs.

Obama fiddles while Rome burns…

This is the kind of CHANGE you can believe in. You voted for it. A politician from Chicago and America didn’t see it coming ? Wake up. You deserve it.

Obama has given new depth and meaning to the term partisanship. It has never been this bad before. The faux stimulus bill being the most glaring example.
These mini events of bipartisanship involving food and wine are nothing but dog and pony shows for the Obama media to drool and exclaim over
Keep the food and drink. It would be best to show bipartisanship in legislation and cooperative efforts running this government.
Obama is destructive and corrupt. Yet he is reveling in lording over us all. $100/pound Kobe beef while we the little people watch our retirement funds disappear.
This disingenuous excess is disgusting.
The Peron’s (you know Evita) had nothing on the Obama’s.

Tell me if I am wrong. The President had a party for the powerful people in Washington, while at the same time he did not have time for a formal dinner with the Prime Minister of England? Does he dislike England that much? Why?

This is a great American tradition — breaking bread together.
I applaud President and Mrs. Obama and their attempts at bipartisanship. Also, I love that the spouses are included, and that the White House is being highlighted again as the beautiful place that it is.
The Obama family displays so much dignity. He is truly a statesman and diplomat.

What is he doing worrying about healthcare when NO ONE is going to be working if he doesn’t start caring about his agenda bringing the market down?
There will be no industry left in this country if he gets his agenda thru.
Healthcare will be the least of our worries.

Go Obama!

Look in the dictionary under “pompous” and you will find Obama’s picture.

Sue P. Get a life and shut up about Bush. He is no longer President that other man (whoever it is) is. You know the arrogant one with the wife that is ashamed to be an American.

Wednesday night is a big party night at the White House. Another big tax payer expense…spending $$ we don’t have and wasting time and energy. They all should be ashamed. No one in Congress should ever point a finger at Corporate “big wigs” for their getaways…Politicians are all a bunch of hypocrits starting at the top of the food chain…the President.

Seriously, in the grand scheme of things, what it costs to run the White House in general, how many donors have stayed and been wined and dined there, etc., etc., etc., what difference does it make? Do you REALLY think Stevie Wonder is charging the American people? It is an honor to perform for the President of the United States, always has been, always will be. A few cocktails and a more collegial atmosphere in Washington is hardly a problem we need to worry about.
I wonder . . . does anyone know anything about the schedule and costs of Bush’s “entertaining”? And I further wonder why you all would ponder about what Pres. Obama does and not Pres. Bush . . . yet, I am glad we are keeping an eye on our guy; however, I think we’re being a bit unfair to him and uninformed about the details of what we’re questioning.
Now, if the Obamas start renovating the White House, I’m going to be VERY interested in those costs at a time like this. A few cocktail parties to get people to work together seems like money well spent to me.
I guess it’s a good thing that people in general are, for once, interested in spending and budget proposals and so on. I bet 99% of you couldn’t tell me a thing about what Bush was up to during his presidency.
I think it’s important to try to get past the spin coming from both sides these days, and the infotainment slant the media is taking. The media is constantly trying to manufacture conflict, to get us to keep tuning in to the reality show we all loved so during the election. I just wish they’d REPORT more and gossip less.

These dinners are a good idea. I like the whole attitude of we’re more alike than different that pervades Obama’s style of politics. Appealing to our better selves is a good idea.
(And that gold-edged china they used, was that what Laura Bush picked out right before leaving?)

Ya know, I’m glad we’re holding our guy’s feet to the fire. It’s a nice change of pace from the Bush years when NO ONE held him accountable till it was too late, isn’t it?
I just feel like the guy’s getting slammed from all directions over tiny and petty things, yet the breadth and scope of the things he’s gotten done in such an amazingly short amount of time is ASTONISHING, particularly considering he’s doing his very best to keep his campaign promises, which you rarely see a president do at all, much less within the first 100 days.
Can’t someone cut the guy a little slack on something? The pressure he must be under! His hair is turning white right before our eyes! It’s shocking really. He’s working himself to death, trying as hard as I’ve ever seen anyone, being incredibly smart and ernest about it all the way along, and still he’s got food being thrown at him from every direction, and a lot of the time, these don’t seem like fights that are worth picking. Like everyone jumping up and down on his head over less that 2% of the Stimulus.
I want us to hold him accountable. I really, really do, I just want us to have reasonable expectations and reasoned, informed criticisms.

Teri B., actually, I think most folks who follow the government and politics at all closely can tell you in detail about Bush’s socializing in the white house– there was very little. He did not like large dinner parties, threw few state dinners, did not drink alcohol and turned in early. Pretty boring, and there were complaints in Washington about the lack of a social energy to the White House. I was actually rather surprised and disappointed that there were not more state dinners under his watch and that Laura did not get more opportunities to entertain.
It is not that we were not watching during the Bush years. It is that there was not much to watch. Which is a shame.