WaPo's David Ignatius Implores Obama To Do Immigration Reform Without Destroying Rubio

As NewsBusters reported, CBS News political director John Dickerson a few days before Barack Obama's second inaugural advised the President to destroy the Republican Party.

On the syndicated Chris Matthews Show Sunday, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius went in a completely different direction imploring Obama to "get out of the zero sum game Washington where to do something good on immigration reform he's got to destroy Marco Rubio" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: Marco Rubio has been designated as the Republican respondent, right, which is pretty smart I guess because he's the hot hand. Immigration jumps right out at that guy when you see him. He's Cuban-American, he’s talked on the issue. Will the president stick it to him and say, “I'm going to be good on immigration, you guys are going to have to handle the issue?”

DAVID IGNATIUS, WASHINGTON POST: Well, I think he's going to make immigration one of the issues he talks about in the State of the Union. The State of the Union is good, but here are the things we need to do. He’s going to talk about immigration reform, he's going to talk about climate change. He's going to certainly talk about bringing the troops home from the wars. I think he'll announce a number of troops that will be withdrawn.

But, you know, the Marco Rubio question gets to whether Obama can get out of the zero sum game Washington where to do something good on immigration reform, he's got to, you know, destroy Marco Rubio who is the Republican symbol of progress on that. And I'm looking to see whether he can lift his game beyond where he was in his inaugural address and really speak to the country, speak to the people who didn't vote for him as well as the people who did, and have a platform for really doing something.

Rather surprising, wouldn't you say?

Since Election Day, much of Obama's media have been advising him to completely ignore Republicans and instead ram legislation down their throats without their involvement.

Some - like CBS's Dickerson - have advised him to destroy the GOP in his second term.

Yet Ignatius wants a kinder, gentler President to work with Republicans in order to solve the problems facing the nation.

It's sad that this has become such a rarity in the media that I would even need to bring it to people's attention.