Obama Doesn't Want to Linger on Joe Wilson

Don't expect President Obama to invite Rep. Joe Wilson to the White House for a few beers any time soon.

That let's-be-friends technique is what the president used to create a "teachable moment" with the two antagonists in the infamous "arrest incident" in Cambridge, Mass., a few weeks ago. But Wilson is a different story. Wilson is the Republican from South Carolina who shouted that Obama was a "liar" during the president's speech to Congress Wednesday night. After a furor erupted over the angry outburst, Wilson called White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel later that night and apologized for violating congressional decorum, saying his emotions got the better of him.

When reporters asked the president about the incident yesterday, Obama replied, "I'm a big believer that we all make mistakes" and said that he accepted Wilson's apology. Obama said that it's time for Washington to conduct its debates "without vitriol, without name-calling."

This was part of Obama's above-the-fray strategy regarding the episode. A White House official tells U.S. News that Obama won't keep the controversy alive because he doesn't want to draw more attention to Wilson. Some Democratic strategists say this is an excellent strategy because Wilson did a good job of embarrassing himself on his own and the media doesn't need any encouragement from the White House to feed the story. If conservative critics of Obama defend Wilson's outburst (as radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh has already done), they will only alienate moderate voters who are fed up with polarized politics, according to Obama insiders. "It's a genuine opportunity to demonstrate that we need to rise above name-calling and partisan and political posturing," the White House official says. "The president is showing that at least he will rise above this stuff."

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