Reply #72: I don't think it was Obama's intention to play anyone as pawns

[gravity]

There are going to be people who will get outraged by this, but I don't think it really plays into his advantage.

He probably wants to bring the country closer together like he talked about during his whole campaign, and show that we can find common ground with others, even if we disagree on some of the issues.

There will be some people who get offended, but the political costs is worth the gain of helping bring together most of the country in his eyes.