I think we can all agree with the assertion made by Barack Obama in an AP interview on Saturday that “Bush has created a partisan atmosphere” in Washington. And I can’t help but agree that sometimes we need to “bring both parties together,” to get things done on the Hill. So hearing that Obama views himself as the candidate who can best bring the parties together, I think that’s grand. But he ticked off a few names of “Republicans he would reach out to if elected,” and whill I get the reasoning perhaps with a couple of them, one sticks out like a sore thumb:

“There are some very capable Republicans who I have a great deal of respect for,” Obama said in an interview with The Associated Press. “The opportunities are there to create a more effective relationship between parties.”

Among the Republicans he would seek help from are Sens. Richard Lugar of Indiana, John Warner of Virginia and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Obama said.

“On foreign policy I’ve worked very closely with Dick Lugar,” Obama said. “I consider him one of my best friends in the Senate. He’s someone I would actively seek counsel and advice from when it came to foreign policy.”

“Senator Warner is another example of somebody with great wisdom, although I don’t always agree with him on every issue,” Obama said. “I would also seek out people like Tom Coburn, who is probably the most conservative member of the U.S. Senate. He has become a friend of mine.”

That’s one heck of a friend Obama has there. The same Senator Coburn who (via D/U):

Senator Coburn, who said that lesbianism is “so rampant in some of the schools…that they’ll let only one girl go to the bathroom.”

Senator Coburn, who claims he can tell if someone is telling the truth because of his medical training.

Dr. Coburn, who said: “You know, I immediately thought about silicone breast implants and the legal wrangling and the class-action suits off that. And I thought I would just share with you what science says today about silicone breast implants. If you have them, you’re healthier than if you don’t. That is what the ultimate science shows…In fact, there’s no science that shows that silicone breast implants are detrimental and, in fact, they make you healthier.”

Senator Coburn, who thought Schindler’s List was smut, an “all-time low, with full-frontal nudity, violence and profanity.

On gay rights, Senator Coburn said: “The gay community has infiltrated the very centers of power in every area across this country, and they wield extreme power… That agenda is the greatest threat to our freedom that we face today. Why do you think we see the rationalization for abortion and multiple sexual partners? That’s a gay agenda.”

Senator Coburn, who objects to legal abortion in cases of rape, and justifies his position by noting that his great-grandmother was raped by a sheriff.

Senator Coburn, who placed a hold on H.R. 923, the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007, a bill that would have reopened hate crimes cases from before 1970. This bill passed the House by a vote of 422-2.

Okey dokey…. Here’s Coburn’s voting record (via Jeralyn at TalkLeft).

Next…

On another Obama note… Some folks think he’s making some sense on Cuba, but he could perhaps take it a step further. Steve Clemons of the Washington Note agrees and suggests that Hillary Clinton may want to rethink her position on Cuba. However as Clemons points out, the L.A. Times misses the memo, that Chris Dodd has already mapped this one out beyond Obama’s position.

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