Valerie Jarrett on Obama's Bipartianship: Stephanopoulous on Obama responsible for health care failure?

George Stephanopoulous asks Valerie Jarrett, known as the other side of Barack Obama's brain, if the president "bears" any "responsibility for the failure to get Republican votes" for the health care bill. Jarrett has a lot to say about Obama's bipartianship. See video below.

George Stephanopoulous

Stephanopoulous, host of ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulous cites the polls and says that "the partisan divide persists on issue after issue after issue," and then asks what responsibility Obama bears for not bringing the parties together for health care reform.

Jarrett cannot answer the question about responsibility, because this is a concept foreign to this White House,  but she has plenty to say about how Obama has "been forthcoming," "is constantly reaching out to Republicans," how he "is known for listening most closely to those with whom he disagrees," and the best one, the president "has been consistent not just here, domestically, but also around the world in the way he has reached out."

Valerie Jarrett and Barack Obama

But, Stephanopoulous says, he has not included "their ideas in the legislation." Well, that's not true, Ms. Jarrett says. She obviously cannnot name one, because she doesn't. "Ultimately, whether they vote for [the bill] or not, doesn't mean that it hasn't been an open and fruitful process."

The question is, what kind of fruit will this thorny bush bear?

Jarrett ends with "the President is accountable to the Republican people -- to the American people, sorry." Thanks to  Crooks and Liars for the video, where there is  head...banging...going on there, over Stephanopoulous' "FIVE questions in a row framing the lack of bipartisanship." Visit them for commentary and the complete transcript. The website queries if George Stephanopoulous is auditioning for a job at Fox:-)

Valerie Jarrett and George Stephanopoulous (video)