Last night Rachel Maddow weighed in with bemusement and a bit of dismay that White House faith-based office staff are meeting with reps of the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, and other religious right organizations.

Rachel's skepticism is understandable (those groups have some pretty extreme views and have been openly hostile toward the administration), but having White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Director Joshua Dubois meet with them is consistent with Obama's record and rhetoric as a candidate and as president. In early primary debates he said he'd be willing to meet with leaders of hostile governments, including Iran; as president-elect he expressed his desire to be president of all Americans, not just those who voted for him; and as president he quickly met with a group of conservative columnists who don't always engage him in good faith. Obama made clear that this would be his approach in his victory speech:

There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree.

Steve Benen, who Rachel quoted on-air, adds:

To put this in perspective, imagine George W. Bush aides agreeing to meet with representatives of the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and People for the American Way, to discuss culture war issues. If that sounds like a ridiculous scenario, then you can appreciate why this meeting between Obama's faith-based guy and leading activists from the religious right is unusual.

I'm not necessarily troubled by their chat, anymore than I was concerned about the president stopping by George Will's house for a dinner with Krauthammer, Brooks, Kudlow, Barone, and Kristol. If Obama and his administration are interested in honest discussions with conservatives, and they want to engage detractors in a good-faith dialog, fine. I'm skeptical it will amount to much, but I certainly respect the administration's mature approach to spirited discourse.

We concur. Meeting with political adversaries doesn't require compromising principles, and argument hones ideas. Part of being big is dealing with people who are small.