Obama Urged to Keep Talking to Political Rivals

Democratic strategist Lanny Davis says President Barack Obama's openness before the House Republican conference in Baltimore was "his finest public moment since he became president."

"If only he could produce the same attitude of tolerance, civility and openness to differing opinions by the rabid, vitriolic right and left of both parties -- and to the House Democratic and Republican leaders," Davis told Politico.

The give-and-take meeting at a GOP retreat came two days after the president's State of the Union speech in which he chided Republican congressmen for rejecting virtually all of the health care reform proposals put forth by the majority Democratic side.

The Washington Post questioned whether the 90 minutes of political theater in Baltimore would be remembered as a moment when partisan tensions eased, or as simply an asterisk during a time of polarization. The newspaper said Obama may have helped himself politically in his call for bipartisanship during a strong, knowledgeable performance that easily eclipsed his State of the Union address.

Lanny Davis said Obama should follow up by holding a similar meeting with House Democrats and, for his part, pledge to "stop listening to the voices of stridency and hate on the left blogs and on TV cable shows..."

Davis, a special White House counsel during former President Clinton's second term, is a frequent guest on political talk shows and is close to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Coincidentally -- but certainly in a bipartisan vein -- former President George H.W. Bush and his son former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush visited Obama at the White House on Saturday, the AP reported.

The former president. 85, used a cane as he entered the White House for a social call on a snowy day in the nation's capital. After the 35-minute get-together Bush senior told reporters it was "good meeting, good meeting." He was in Washington to attend a dinner.