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.

were they, by chance, related? hey, just kidding! sort of.

it always fascinates me when supposedly educated people, especially scientifically educated people, claim to espouse positions that are the polar opposite of the education they received. i have to wonder how much is real, and how much is for the benefit of the rubes back home? not, that it ultimately matters all that much, in terms of the harm it does to the entire country.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - U.S. Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Barack Obama (D-IL) today hailed the Senate's passage of the "Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act," a bill that will create a Google-like search engine and database to track approximately $1 trillion in federal grants, contracts, earmarks and loans.

"Every American has the right to know how their government spends their money, and then to hold elected officials accountable for those decisions. I applaud my colleagues for unanimously supporting a bill that will aid the American people in that effort," Dr. Coburn said. "This bill is a small but significant step toward changing the culture in Washington. Only by fostering a culture of openness, transparency and accountability will Congress come together to address the mounting fiscal challenges that threaten our future prosperity."

"The group that deserves credit for passing this bill, however, is not Congress, but the army of bloggers and concerned citizens who told Congress that transparency is a just demand for all citizens, not a special privilege for political insiders. Their remarkable effort demonstrates that our system of government does work when the people take the reins of government and demand change," Dr. Coburn said.

"By helping to lift the veil of secrecy in Washington, this database will help make us better legislators, reporters better journalists, and voters more active citizens," Obama said. "It's both unusual and encouraging to see interest groups and bloggers on the left and the right come together to achieve results. This powerful grassroots alliance shows that at the end of the day, Americans want to see Congress work together to get something done and not continue to engage in the partisan gridlock that so often brings Capitol Hill to a grinding halt."

More than 100 organizations ranging from Americans for Prosperity and Taxpayers for Common Sense to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and Greenpeace have endorsed S. 2590.

However charming Mr. Coburn is in person he is an unreconstructed racist, sexist and homophobic bigot in practice.  You sound naive and credulous saying you would reach out to him and work with him.  A bit like baby George looking into Putin's "soul."  Putin was, and is, KGB.  He must have found Bush's trust hilarious, and has taken full advantage of it.

Well, Obama seems to try very hard lately to be different from. In his case it is not a joke. Me make a big deal with Coburn, but can you work with Warner and his stupid withdrawal of 5000 soldiers from Iraq by Xmas? Why not 50 soldiers, that will offend Bush even less. And Lugar who says one thing and votes for its opposite.

Obama will invade Pakistan (fine just a little invasion) following Tenet's replacement word. He will also do a Republican on teachers' pay by using merit pay so he doesn't (God forbid) have to pay teacher decent salaries.

as mom used to say (and still does), "you're known by the company you keep." sure, i could work with satan, and probably accomplish some good things. in the end, i'll still be damned, and go to hell.

that's how it works in real life.

honestly, i'm not worried about the current crop of republican candidates. they are such a huge pack of losers; from rudy and his coat-of-many-marriages, and lies about his work after 9/11, to mitt and his magic underwear, they are a political horrorshow. none will come close to being elected.