Obama Reaches Out for McCain’s Counsel

From the NYTimes.com
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Over the last three months, Mr. Obama has quietly consulted Mr. McCain about many of the new administration’s potential nominees to top national security jobs and about other issues — in one case relaying back a contender’s answers to questions Mr. McCain had suggested.

Mr. McCain, meanwhile, has told colleagues “that many of these appointments he would have made himself,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and a close McCain friend.

Fred I. Greenstein, emeritus professor of politics at Princeton, said: “I don’t think there is a precedent for this. Sometimes there is bad blood, sometimes there is so-so blood, but rarely is there good blood.”

When the Supreme Court gave Bush the Presidency in 2000, I thought that this would be a great opportunity to have a unity government. After all the vote was extremely close. It would have been simple good politics for Bush to do what he could to work with Gore. In addition, Bush labeled himself a uniter instead of a divider. Instead, as we know, Bush has been one of the most partisan and divisive presidents in history. He really had an opportunity to be better. He just was unable or unwilling to take advantage of it.