A few days ago I watched C-SPAN again and was treated to a fictional account of what bipartisanship is all about.
Here is the scenario: The President starts from a weak position as he did in the health care issue. He makes speeches that say that he will not sign any law that does not include taxing billionaires.
The Tea Partiers believe that in the interest of compromise and bipartisanship, he will cave in.
I listened to the House Republicans and some Democrats thanking the president and the other Democrats for their bipartisanship approach to a deal.
The president was like the parent of a kidnapped child forced to pay ransom. "Give us what we want or we're going to let the government default," the Tea Partiers wrote in their ransom note, and the president and moderate Democrats gave them the satchel full of unmarked bills and the getaway car.
It may be that in acquiescing the president in acquiescing is playing politics. He may believe that the Republicans have again over-reached and have hurt their chances in the next election with their tactics.
While I do not believe the deal was a good deal. I do not think there was much choice. 2012 will tell us if the poor, middle class and seniors are going to be willing to take another stand for their interests or of they've given up the fight and will allow the Tea Party to take greater control and begin the dismantling of Medicare and Social Security and continue the widening of the gap between the rich and everyone else.
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Obama does not know how to play politics. He is a wimp and gives in to everything. If he had shown some agression and strength as Truman, FDR, and even Eisenhower did, we could have gotten the tax on the rich, gotten closer to ending the war, and even eliminated the debt restraints. Also, by not choosing Warren, he proved that he is unable to stand up for what he believes in. He is hopeless and has chosen the worst possible advisors to guide him into oblivion and us with him.
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