Jim Dandy: I think you're spot on. I'm guessing the cold shoulder has several factors. For one, I don't really think Obama tried very hard to include the ideas of the Right in his policies. I think more he tried to convince them to accept his ideas and support them. The other factor is the arrogance of some on the left (Pelosi for one) and how they simply excluded the Right from participating in meaningful ways. Then there is always the loyalty factor. Loyalty to the party line (not necessarily a bad thing but certainly doesn't promote bipartisanship). When you hold the majority, you don't always have to give and take and in this case, the Dems held the majority and the Right was powerless. There goes our checks and balances.