Obama’s Shout-Out to Lugar: A Blessing or Curse?

Be careful what you wish for. Indiana Republican Sen. Dick Lugar received a public thank you from President Barack Obama for his support of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in the president’s press conference Wednesday. But Obama’s kind words may do Lugar more harm than good as he seeks re-election to a seventh term in 2012, The Hill reports.

Tea party activists already have Lugar in their sights for the GOP primary, and one of his views that infuriates them most is his support for the arms treaty with Russia. “When Obama announced his candidacy for president in 2007, he stressed his bipartisan credentials, including saying: ‘I've worked with Republican Sen. Dick Lugar.’ It'll be interesting to see if Lugar touts his work with Obama when the senator campaigns for a seventh term,” The Hill states.