Call it a charm offensive or a high-level “Listening Tour,” but Barack Obama is already signaling that he intends to break with the current president in one obvious way: hearing from his critics.

Obama Tuesday night trekked to the Chevy Chase, Md., home of conservative columnist George F. Will to talk politics and get to know some of his fiercest intellectual adversaries: Charles Krauthammer, William Kristol, Larry Kudlow, David Brooks, Rich Lowry, Peggy Noonan, Michael Barone, and Paul Gigot.

The two-and-half-hour dinner, which came at Will’s request, is only the first get-together between the president-elect and Washington’s opinion-makers.

Then, this morning it was the LEFT’s turn to bite at the defanging the press operation apple of “The One.”

Obama held a meeting with several columnists and liberal commentators this morning, following up on last night’s dinner with conservative writers, according to a source with knowledge of the meeting. Some of the writers there today are clearly on the liberal side, while others more moderate.

The group included the Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne and Eugene Robinson, the Wall Street Journal’s Gerry Seib, National Journal’s Ron Brownstein, the New York Times Frank Rich and Maureen Dowd, and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, among others.

Today’s meeting was held at the transition headquarters, and unlike dinner at George Will’s house, I’m told there weren’t refreshments. But similar to last night’s, the discussion was off the record.

All of these folks are Washington or New York MSM opinion makers and Obama is playing the “please be nice to me defang” card. Note, the LEFT’s meeting was obviously hastily arranaged (mid-day at Transition HQ and no food) after they whined about “The One” meeting with the RIGHT.

It may be a nice gesture but Obama’s cabinet appointment distractions are starting to reach a crescendo.

Exit question: Who on the RIGHT will write the first “Obama is All RIGHT” column?

Flap is putting his money on Peggy Noonan.