South Floridians, Democrats and Republicans, gave President Barack Obama high marks for meeting with members of the Republican Party in the U.S. House of Representatives, in Baltimore, Maryland on Friday.

The president accepted an invitation from Republicans to address their caucus, to meet the objective, stated in his state of the union address, of fostering bipartisanship, and a more positive working relationship between the two parties in Congress. However, it’s uncertain based on the tone of Friday’s meeting that the way forward to bipartisanship was realized.

At the outset of the meeting, President Obama and the Republican leaders promised greater efforts to halt the partisan approach, agreeing that the political climate in Washington D.C. made it difficult to tackle major problems. In his opening speech to the gathering, the president joked that it was important that he attended the caucus, as it was essential to “keep your friends close, but visit the Republican caucus every few months.”

But during the question and answer segment, which was televised nationally, the meeting grew more contentious, with Republicans asking the president tough questions and the president aggressively refuting his opponents.

Stephan Horne, a dedicated Doral Republican, who has voted consistently Republican over the past 16 years, said he was impressed with how the president stood up to the “Pressure we tried to bear on him. With every opportunity he attempted to show that a bi-partisan approach is better to solving the nation’s problems. Even I agree with that,” said Horne. “The great divided must be breached.”

In an exchange related to healthcare reform, Republicans complained that the White House and congressional Democrats had ignored their ideas, and unfairly called them obstructionists. However, the president said he had read some of their proposals and some had been accepted, but, he said, Republicans had frequently mischaracterized the Democrats’ proposals and treated the healthcare reform “as some kind of Bolshevik plot.” He said much of the healthcare plan was similar to what Republicans had proposed during the Clinton presidency.

Obama said both parties can take some blame for the “sour climate on Capitol Hill,” and both should be careful in choosing their rhetoric. “A tone of civility instead of slash and burn would be helpful,” he said.

In a very blunt remark the president told his audience, he was not suggesting they were going to agree on everything, whether it’s on healthcare or energy, but if the way those issues are presented by the Republicans as if there “is some wild-eyed plot to impose huge government in every aspect of our lives, what happens is you guys then don't have a lot of room to negotiate with me.”

To a question on the stimulus funding, the president responded that although Republicans criticized the stimulus plan, some of them could be seen profiling at ribbon cuttings to celebrate the start of some of these same projects. He said, “There is not a single person in here who, had it not been for what was in the stimulus package, wouldn't be going home to more teachers laid off, more firefighters laid off, more cops laid off.”

When Rep. Jason Chaffetz - Utah, expressed disappointment that Obama hadn’t kept a campaign promise to stop congressional earmarks, Obama told him that “as a freshman” what he would be doing inside his caucus to make sure he (Obama) was not “the only guy who’s responsible for this stuff.”

Democratic supporter, Shellie Dodd of Plantation, said she was surprised how “fearless” and “frank” the president responded to the Republicans. “That’s one no-nonsense man,” said Dodd.

After Friday’s meeting, House Minority Leader, John Boehner said, the day went well. He said there are issues the two parties agreed on, and promised Republicans will work to arrive at common ground.

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