Portion of the Transcript from ANDERSON COOPER AC360
COOPER: President Obama took part in a question and answer session today at a strategy conference for Senate Democrats. He may have faced a bigger helping of raw politic than he expected, sort of the same televised meeting he had w. Republicans last week the one where he went on the offensive.
Today, Mr. Obama had a strong message for the Democrats, too, but some are facing tough re-election battles this fall and there were definitely some sparks. Dana Bash has the report now -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, as you said last week when the president opened up the Q & A with Republicans, it was to show independent voters that he will reach out to the GOP and also to show his base he is willing, I should say, to take on Republicans.
Well, today, what was so interesting is that Democrats used the same kind of forum for their vulnerable senators to take on the president.
I want to put up on the screen six senators, six Democratic Senators, they are all up for re-election and they were all, Anderson, hand-picked by the senate Democratic leader to ask a question of the president. And none of them missed an opportunity in this live forum -- this was live, the cameras were rolling. It was broadcast on CNN and elsewhere, to show their frustrated voters back home that they hear them.
We will play some of the clips from some of those questions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BLANCHE LINCOLN (D), ARKANSAS: I visited with a constituent yesterday, good Democrat, small business owner, who is extremely frustrated; extremely frustrated because there was a lack of certainty and predictability from his government for him to be able to run his businesses.
He is -- he and his father have worked hard. They have built three or four different small businesses. And he fears that there is no one in your administration that understands what it means to go to work on Monday and have to make a payroll on Friday.
SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D) COLORADO: This place looks broken to the American people. The ability -- our ability to make these decisions is open to enormous question in the wake of the health care discussion in particular. I had a woman the other day in Glenwood Springs, Colorado ask me where she could get her lobbyist in Washington, D.C. What are we going to do differently? What are you going to do differently? What do we need to do differently?
SEN. EVAN BAYH (D), INDIANA: Why should the Democratic Party be trusted and how do we make the tougher decisions to actually head this country in a better direction?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'll tell you why the Democratic Party should be trusted because the last time this budget was balanced, it was under a Democratic president who made some very tough decisions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, Dana as you know, the president is correct when he says that but we also point out that Republicans controlled both Houses of Congress back then.
Are we going to see more of these meetings? Does the White House think this is a good thing?
BASH: It is likely. Let's keep them honest here, the president was a willing participant in the political choreography today. In fact, I was told tonight by a senior Democratic source that the White House actually knew, the Democrats here on the Hill gave them a heads up of who would be asking the questions at today's forums.
He didn't necessarily know the content but he knows what is going on. He knows that all of the people standing up are in very tough re- election bids and so he knows the politics of the moment.
And I was in that room today, Anderson. I can tell you everybody there knew that the optics of this were probably beneficial to them back home.
And just to give you an example of the raw politics of this, one of the Democrats you heard there, Blanche Lincoln, who has a really, really brutal race this year in Arkansas, probably an hour or two after this forum, she sent out a campaign press release -- this is a Democrat -- back home in Arkansas, telling the voters that she stood up and she challenged the president today.
COOPER: Interesting. Dana, appreciate it. Let's dig deeper with senior political analyst, David Gergen; also John Avlon, columnist for thedailybeast.com and author of "Wingnuts: How the lunatic fringe is hijacking America".
David, you know, President Bush used to get kind of knocked for having pre-scripted questions or kind of softball questions at press conferences. I mean, just fair play here, why not have just actual impromptu questions from -- not from hand-picked senators and folks? Why not just have an actual meeting where things may get ugly, but it's real?
Tug.
COOPER: How about that?
GERGEN: A formal press conference -- wouldn't that be a change of pace? We haven't had one for about six months, I think.
Look, I think these have been constructive, especially the one with the Republicans. There was a certain electricity in that. This one was more -- was much tamer and it was sort of more predictable and had more of a pep rally feel to it, frankly, and very much a pre- campaign kind of effort.
But what I don't think -- I did visit the White House today, and -- after this session -- and I came away with the impression that these will not become routine. That if anything, they're going to look for fresh ways to communicate.
They do have very much a strong feeling in White House that the president needs to get out more. I have some questions about that strategy. But nonetheless, they want to put him in different settings.
I think what he ought to be doing, frankly, is some more listening, too. You know, a listening tour in which he listened to a lot of citizens. You know, these TEA party folks who are meeting this week, you know, their argument is "Nobody is listening to us." I think the more the government listens to citizens and then responds after a number of comments, I think that would be healthy.
COOPER: John, the argument is that President Obama has been plenty out there in terms of giving interviews, and you see him on a lot of different shows. What do you think independents think of -- how do they read this?
JOHN AVLON, COLUMNIST, THEDAILYBEAST.COM: I think this has been the substance behind the talk of a new reaching out, today's event. But also even more substantively, the Republican event, which really showed the president back in the mode that independents voted for him in '08.
Clearly, a president who's intelligent, who can think on his feet, who's not ideological and a real break with the Bush administration in that way. And I think actually these are not incidental events. I think these are very important. These have been real bright moments for the Obama administration.
COOPER: Would you like to see more of them?
AVLON: Absolutely, and there's actually a grassroots movement going on the Web right now. Liberal and conservative bloggers and journalists say make more of these. Make it like British prime minister's questions because in an era of constant spin, the only way to break through the spin is to stop spinning.
COOPER: Those British prime minister questions, though, I mean, there's nothing like that in American politics or hasn't been for a long time. I mean, it gets -- it gets downright mean, and I mean, people are yelling and booing. It's really fascinating.
AVLON: It's brutal, but it's honest. And I think that's what people are sick of, is the cynicism of Washington politics. Just having an honest exchange, and the fact that these are substantive, that's what's really revolutionary. There's been so much sense.
COOPER: It would be interesting, David, to see that kind of British-style thing. We should get a video of it and maybe play it tomorrow or something, because it is fascinating to watch. You know, the whole crowd goes, "Harumph, harumph, harumph," and you know, challenges what the British prime minister says.
GERGEN: Yes, Anderson, in Britain and in the parliament, they keep -- you know, you have to stand behind the line when you're speaking and the other party is directly across behind another line, and the two lines are just far enough apart that two swords can't hit each other. You can't hit the other guy with a sword.
But I want to go back to this, Anderson, about this. I think -- look, I think the president does need to be regularly accountable through questions, through the press and other forums.
But I don't think people sent him to Washington to be a talker. I think they sent him to Washington to be a doer and to get results. And this notion that he needs to get out on the countryside more, I think he needs to govern more and take charge in Washington and get some results. And yes, stay in touch. But most important thing is get some results for people.
COOPER: But now, Scott Brown is being sworn in, I mean, Democrats lose their filibuster-proof majority. So in truth, what can the president really get done?
AVLON: Well, look, they don't have a filibuster-proof majority, but they still have a strong majority. Many presidents have governed very effectively with far less. So I think there's a sense that you lose the 60 seats, all of a sudden the mandate to govern is over. And that's just not the case.
I think the president campaigned early on, on changing the culture in Washington. No doubt that's tough to do. It's addicted to division. But you begin by reaching out, by beginning, engaging in the conversation. And ultimately, what leaders do is change the culture. And I think this is a step in that direction.
COOPER: David, do you thank that's possible?
GERGEN: Anderson there are some things. Yes, I think on this year -- I was up on the Hill today, too, and talked to some of the Republican leadership. And I will tell you, there is a -- there was -- a gratitude expressed by Republicans that in the State of the Union, he said, "Look, I want to go on nuclear power. I want to go forward with that. I want to go forward with offshore drilling."
And if there is a possibility of putting together an energy bill this year that would have bipartisan support, there will be energy production. Cap and trade is gone. There would be a possibility of doing something on trade.
On education they are closer together.
On Afghanistan, there's a lot of Republican support.
So there are areas where you could build some trust, and people could begin to see, you know, maybe those guys can work together. That would help the country's morale a lot.
COOPER: David Gergen, John Avlon, appreciate it. Thanks very much. Good discussion.