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Congressional Team Building

Will Obama succeed at redefining how Washington works?

Obama's Fiscal Responsibility Summit at the White House was a fascinating display of the administration's governance efforts. Obama ran the summit like a corporate brainstorming exercise: they divided congressmen into small groups and assigned them to talk about specific knotty problems. (The exercise in forcing Democrats and Republicans to talk with each other is like going to school - it reminds me of Obama's exercise in flying Congressmen and the press corps to visit with voters in Illinois and Florida right before the final stimulus bill vote.)

What a difference 90 minutes of talking makes. After the meetings the members were noticeably relaxed, even joking with each other across the aisle. Might Democrats and Republicans be able to actually work together?

Watch the full closing remarks and discussion with Congressional leaders - with comments from McCain, Cantor, Collins, Enzi, Barton, and other Republicans and Democrats:

Posted by David at February 24, 2009 06:20 AM