Politics: Guess Who?s Not Coming to Dinner?

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Politics Guess Who's Not Coming to Dinner? Why the president may need to break bread with Democrats—not Republicans—if he wants to sell his budget. By John Dickerson Posted Thursday, Apr 11, 2013, at 12:06 AM ET While President Obama invites Republicans to his dinner table, his liberal allies are at the gates. On Wednesday night, President Obama dines with GOP senators at the White House. It's the second act in a dinner theater that started with a meal with another group of Republican senators at the Jefferson Hotel a month ago. Obama also made public peace offerings Wednesday to those Republicans: cuts to Social Security and Medicare in his budget that he hopes will entice conservatives to a grand budget bargain. Those measures enraged his liberal allies so much that they marched on the White House gates Tuesday to deliver 2 million petitions calling on him not to make those cuts.  If only the protesters could have waited and showed up for Wednesday night's dinner. Obama's charm offensive grand bargain strategy requires angry members of his base. "I'm doing something hard with my base," he could say, pulling back the White House drapery to show his guests the angry liberal mob, "and so you need to give in on tax revenue, even if it angers your base." So, for the moment, the louder the shouting from the president's allies, the better. But with each decibel, Obama is going to have to clear another minute on his calendar for future dinners with Democrats. If he wants to reach the grand bargain he dreams about, he's going to need those Democrats in the end. The Obama strategy relies on theater. There is ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Sexting Scourge The Complete Idiot's Guide to Electric Car Companies, Fox News Edition Eating Fire	Advertisement
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