Obama Really Talks to the GOP -Update Conservatives React

This sounded good

Re: Obama and the GOP [Daniel Foster]
The president just concluded — after running over time — his exchange with the House GOP. There was, of course, a lot in what he said that we can and should take issue with, but the mere fact that this meeting happened, and that (unlike the president's meetings with his own party) it was televised, is remarkable in its own right.

More remarkable still is that it would be hard to argue the exchange is anything but a plus-plus for Obama and the GOP. Both sides emerged from it looking as if, contra the public's greatest fears, they more or less know what they are talking about on issues like the deficit and health-care reform. The president avoided the temptation to speak in platitudes and sound bytes, and the Republicans went a long way toward showing that they are hardly a party of obstructionists with no solutions to offer Americans.

Obama's lengthy back-and-forth with Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wisc.) was particularly compelling, as it was clear that the president realized he was in the presence of a razor-sharp wonk and one of the most effective critics of his administration.
Maybe it's just that the novelty of the Q&A has yet to wear off, but that was — for lack of a better phrase — pretty cool.
UPDATE: C-SPAN will replay the "question time" in its entirety tonight at 8 P.M.

Update- I wonder if people get what is really refreshing about this. We are actually seeing elected leaders talk to each other and not just pundits. We do more of this and Hannity and Olberman might be out of a job.

Update II (More Conservative reaction here)

Question Time With the President
This afternoon's event was the closest Americans have come to a version of Questions With the Prime Minister. Like everyone else, I think this event did Obama a great deal of good; it was the antidote to everything that was insufferable about the State of the Union - the uninterrupted platitudes, the dishonest framing, the aversion to acknowledging alternative views, the endless droning, etc.
The questions from the Republicans were pointed but fair, and I think every member who asked a question thanked Obama for coming. I think most intriguing was when Obama was basically asked to take some responsibility for Pelosi shutting out House Republicans on major pieces of legislation. I've mocked some of Obama's recent town halls, with questioners tending to ask deeply personal or sometimes simply inane questions. This setup eliminated the 11-year-old girls asking President Obama why some people were so mean. It was serious, it was substantive, and it had a decent level of detail.
The fact that it went so long, and that Obama didn't head for the door quickly, suggests that he enjoyed it.
Two big questions arise from this event: Will he do a similarly- formatted, televised Q-and-A with Democrats? And if this turns out to be the mutual political winner that is seems to be, how soon will we see another?
01/29 01:58 PMShare

The not so Positive Conservative Reacton here

I only saw parts of it so I will reserve full reaction till I see all of it. Still from what I am reading it is does not sound all that bad. Both sides think they are right in this and yes having a opportunity to air it out and get frustrations in the open is a good start