Obama Answers Questions From House Republicans

I have not yet had the opportunity to watch all of President Obama's Q&A with House Republicans from earlier today, but from what I am reading it was a pretty interesting spectacle to watch.

Richard Adams at the Guardian describes:

Presumably the Republicans thought they'd get a chance to grill the president on live television. But instead, Obama – following on from his state of the union address on Wednesday night – turned the tables by highlighting the Republicans who opposed his policies and refused to bend, yet were prepared to "turn up and cut ribbons" when their constituents reaped the rewards.

Obama also displayed a rare grasp of policy and legislation, wrong-footing his questioners to their face with some stern rebuttal and in some instances quoting their own positions back to them to highlight the contradictions.

Good. I think this is a necessary exercise for the President to engage in at this point. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that the result will be any type of bipartisanship; Republicans have already made it clear that they are going to oppose Obama on everything that he proposes. I do think that it is necessary for the President to push back on the insane rhetoric that has dogged him since the campaign. For example, here is Obama addressing the Republican narrative on health care:



Don't we live in a funny society when the need to operate from within reality is something that needs to be pointed out?