The President of the United States today, took questions from Senate Democrats after he addressed the group with some brief words.  The meeting was the mirror to the one he had with House Republicans last week and was so successful in, but this time Democrats chose questions from Senators who face an uphill battle at getting re-elected. 

Mr. Obama has been urged by House Democrats lately, to put pressure on their Senate cousins so that they can move forward on roadblocks for healthcare, financial regulations, and the climate bill.  Perhaps taking a cue from these concerns, the President reminded his colleagues that standing still and doing nothing is not a solution to public anger.  He said that that the American people were out of patience with business as usual and that transparency was the key, referring to sweetheart deals for certain Senators in the healthcare bill which upset a lot of people.

He also took some time to take jabs at Republican obstructionism, giving examples of holds on judicial, and other nominees on unrelated matters, simply to gum up the works.  I might add that the President did get fired up when he railed against obstructionism from the GOP, but also warned Democrats that if they didn't work together and pass legislation that's good for Americans, and not for their re-election, that the November midterms were a done deal.   But I digress.

By the way, MSNBC coverage cut out right after the President asked Democrats to turn off the news channels and talk to constituents.  I quickly flipped over to CNN, which continued to carry the question and answer session uncut and uninterrupted.

Senators Arlen Specter, Kirsten Gillibrand, Barbara Boxer, Blanche Lincoln, Pat Leahy, Sherrod Brown, and Evan Bayh each asked a question of the President, presumably because their seats are vulnerable, which you can view below: