Food Fight In The Old Family Dining Room

Anxious to hit the ground running with the newly-elected 114th Congress, President Obama invited leaders from both houses to join him in the White House' Old Family Dining Room for a post-election lunch of herb-crusted sea bass and endive salad served up on the Truman china.  

The idea, I'm sure, was to map out some common ground between the executive and legislative branches, moving into the final two years of Obama's term, in the hope of getting something -- anything, actually -- done by 2016.

The gathering opened with some public comments, by Obama, on the importance of cooperation and breaking the partisan gridlock that has effectively hog-tied his administration.  The president stated that he would be open to ideas from both sides of the aisle with the caveat that he would judge ideas based on whether they are likely to work or not.

Obama cited three measures -- emergency funds to fight Ebola, approval of a federal budget, and appropriations to increase troops in Iraq -- that he believes he and Congress could work on, together, before the end of the year.

Once the press was dismissed, however, the tone changed according to the usual anonymous leaks by the usual anonymous aides.