Liberals, Conservatives Ask Obama for "Question Time"
A diverse group of political observers, including liberals, conservatives and techies, wants to see more of that, and they are guessing the American people do as well. The group has launched "Demand Question Time," an online campaign urging citizens to join them in asking for more question-and-answer sessions like last week's.
The campaign has won the endorsement from a varied collection of people. Representing the left, its supporters include DailyKos blogger Markos Moulitsas, The Nation magazine Editor Katrina vanden Heuvel and Mother Jones Washington Bureau Chief David Corn. Conservatives endorsing the idea include Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist, Hot Air blogger Ed Morrissey and Republican consultant Patrick Ruffini. Techies like Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and Craigslist founder Craig Newmark have also signed on.
"We live in a world that increasingly demands more dialogue than monologue," the group says in an open letter to the public. "President Obama's January 29th question-and-answer session with Republican leaders gave the public a remarkable window into the state of our union and governing process. It was riveting and educational."
They are calling on Mr. Obama, as well as Republican and Democratic congressional leaders, to arrange regular question-and-answer sessions. The sessions should be broadcast and Webcast live and without commercial interruption, sponsorship or intermediaries, the open letter says. Citizens are encouraged to sign a petition asking for the same.
When asked about the idea by Politico, White House senior adviser David Axelrod suggested the administration was not very interested in regular question-and-answer sessions.
"The thing that made Friday interesting was the spontaneity," he said. "If you slip into a kind of convention, then conventionality will overtake the freshness of that."
On the other hand, the White House was pleased with the results of the president's recent meeting with Republicans and is looking for similar opportunities.
"I believe we have been invited to speak to the Senate Republicans, and we will do so," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said, according to CBS News White House Correspondent Peter Maer.
The White House clearly wants to fold the appearances with GOP lawmakers into its drive for bipartisanship, Maer reports. Gibbs said, "I think we can show the American people that we hear their anger and frustration and demonstrate it in a way that moves the process forward by working together."
There has been little if any sign of bipartisanship since the president's session with House Republicans. Shortly after he departed the Baltimore meeting room, they issued a news release bannered with "Rhetoric versus reality: President Obama repeats discredited talking points during dialogue with House GOP." Republicans have also been unanimous in their opposition to the president's budget.
Yesterday in New Hampshire the president, in effect, accused Republicans of being hypocrites. He told a town hall meeting, "I've noticed that some of the very same folks in Congress who opposed the Recovery Act - and claim that it hasn't worked - have been all too happy to claim credit for Recovery Act projects in their districts and the jobs those projects have produced. In other words, they've found a way to have their cake and vote against it too."
Both sides will have another opportunity to find common ground on February 9 when the president holds the first of his promised monthly meetings with the bipartisan congressional leadership.
For now, Mr. Obama will, in fact, take questions from the Senate Democratic caucus this morning at the Senate Democratic Policy Committee Issues Conference.
CBS News White House Correspondent Peter Maer contributed to this post.