Obama's Strange Obsession . . . by Tina Brown . . .

[OneBlueSky]

As the Judd Gregg nomination bites the dust, the president ought to officially give up on bipartisanship.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-02-09/obamas-strange-obsession/

Obama’s going to win his stimulus package—but only after he’s gone through the political equivalent of a near-death experience. What has he learned from it?

I for one hope he dumps his obsession with “bipartisanship.” It’s time for him to recognize that overrated concept as what it was: a campaign theme designed to sharpen the contrast between his own reassuring serenity and the Republicans’ crazed, kill-’em-all negativity. It worked—but now the election’s over.

(snip) . . .

Obama has let everybody think that “bipartisanship” means that the party that just lost the election after screwing up the country and the world gets to have veto power over the party that won. Or that if the Republicans choose to vote against his program it must be his fault. Or that for a policy to be good it has to be supported by the very politicians who just got through spending a year denouncing it. Meanwhile, the economic avalanche that will bury us all ominously gathers force.

Obama should talk to Bill Clinton about the difficulties he had at the beginning, when he inherited an economic mess from a departing president named Bush. Clinton passed his first budget without a single Republican vote in either the House or the Senate. Before it led to the longest economic expansion in US history, it led to a Democratic defeat in the 1994 midterms. But Clinton’s problem was high interest rates, and he had to raise taxes and curb spending to cut the deficit. Now, interest rates are near zero, and Obama is cutting taxes and raising spending, neither of which is political poison. With the unemployment figures for January climbing to 7.5 percent and almost certainly going higher, elaborate rituals of “civility” are low on the list of things anyone cares about.

(more) . . .

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-02-09/obamas-strange-obsession/

[wyldwolf]

1. Tina, come on!

In 21 days, Obama has gotten two major pieces of legislation and two pretty significant ones passed - not only this stimulus bill but also an expansion of children’s health care and a wage antidiscrimination law and avoided a showdown over bank bailout funds. And at various times, both the conservative blue dog faction and liberals in congress have threatened to revolt - not to mention the Republicans.

In a perfect world, Dems would fall in lockstep behind Obama and we could actually screw the GOP to the wall. But Democrats aren't that way so any Dem president with any political skills not only has to court Republicans, but also the various ideologies and egos in his own party. You should know this, Tina.

Obama is dealing with a Majority leader and a Speaker who want to be co-presidents, and an opposition party who doesn't get that they actually lost, and both liberals and conservatives in his own party who wants to catered to.

[liberal N proud]

2. Give me a break

"political equivalent of a near-death experience" :wtf: The media is just afraid he might pull it off and make America a better place where the leaders actually work for the people.

The media is still looking for any contention between Democrats and Republicans, House and Senate, Obama and his cabinet choices. They are doing nothing but looking to make stories for their 24/7 coverage. The media has turned into tabloids.

[bunkerbuster1]

5. yah really. "Near death?" Someone sure is caught up in the soap opera.

I'm about to start a Digby-like rant on the nature of the Villagers, so I'll just leave it at that.

[BeyondGeography]

3. Tina Brown?

Shouldn't she stick to writing about who's grasping who in the cloak room?

[Buzz Clik]

4. Obsession? More like a dream. Reality has hit: the GOP isn't interested.

[high density]

6. Nobody cares about this crap but DC and political junkies like us

This entire thing with Gregg will fall into obscurity within a few weeks. Obama moves on with a better pick and Gregg goes back to being an unknown senator from NH. The only political organization close to death is the Republican party, who has shown time and time again in recent weeks that they are not interested in any negotiation with the majority party. This Gregg thing is a prime example of that. They're nothing more than a congressional extension of Rush Limbaugh. "Democrat suck, tax cuts, we hope Obama fails, etc"

Obama is well aware of Bill Clinton's issues, which is why he assembled a group of people in his administration that are already fluent at navigating the bureaucracy. We were already talking about this shit back in November!

[Clio the Leo]

9. Exactly! The overwhelming majority of Americans....

..... loathe political inter-party bickering. Remember all of those undecided voters and their little insant voting machines that CNN had during the debates? EVERY time McCain bashed the Democrats, his line graph would sink like a rock.

Barack will continue this meme for some time to come and, I believe, it will help him when the next election. "I tried to work with these guys from day one! And they fought me all the way! This is not what we need during these difficult times."

His poll numbers keep going up and theirs keep going down. The Stim. bill will pass today or tomorrow and support for it has risen almost 10 points in the last week.

Perhaps bipartisanship it IS working, we've just misunderstood what the goal was. ;)

[OwnedByFerrets]

7. Anyone who thinks that the Leader of the Repug party ....Rushkie......

is going to ALLOW his sycophants to support Our President is sadly mistaken.

[lunatica]

8. President Obama has given us a very rare insight into the Republicans

If he weren't reaching across the aisle in earnest they might still look like semi-normal human beings who could get away with pretending they cared about the country. They could perhaps, almost, maybe, look like their actions had real motives or that their opposition had any sort of foundation in rational thinking.

But because President Obama has shared the spotlight with them they've shown themselves to be mere puppets dancing to the tune of Limbaugh's symphonic jangle of the bizarre. A rudderless Ship of Strutting Fools.

[depakid]

10. Opting for lose/lose

Alienating your base by pandering to Republicans (who hate and will destroy you at all costs) -showing them that you are weak AND getting watered down or ineffective legislation that won't get the job done.

All the while squandering unprecedented political capital and getting virtually nothing from the opposition in return.

lose/lose/lose/lose.

That seems to be the pattern.

Rational people don't behave this way. Obsessed people do- which is why Tina Brown's title seems- based on the past 4 weeks to be right on point.

[Egnever]

14. are you even paying attention or just rooting for obamas downfall?

What an idiotic statement. Obamas popularity has increased the repukes has decreased in the last week that's a win. the stimulus will pass today that's a win. If he continues the way he has the last couple of weeks there will be nothing left of the pukes by the end of his first four years.

Tina is short sighted and completely full of shit.

[Phx_Dem]

11. That would make him a quitter after only 3 weeks. No thanks.

His plan to transform the partisan gridlock in Washington didn't work in the first 3 weeks, so he quits. Yeah, no thanks. That what Republicans do.

[rvablue]

12. Tina Brown is an idiot. Her hyperbole is an effort to drive traffic to her site. n/t

[Egnever]

13. People dont seem to be able to think past today

This article is short sighted.

Obama is kicking republican ass all over the place while apearing to reach out his hand to them. More and more the American people are being presented with the idea that republicans dont want to help right this country they only want to appear to be in control.

Sure real things are being given up short term in this effort to give republicans a chance to show themselves willing to get to the business of running this country effectively. The long term damage they are doing to themselves not taking that opportunity though far outweighs any small concessions currently being given to them.

If you cant see what Obama is forcing the republicans to do to themselves you should stop watching politics and pick another hobby like say tic tac toe. Obama is playing them like a drum the same way he played his opponents in the election. they scream and hollar and make fools of themselves trying to attack him and he remains calm and sticks to his guns and in the end despite all the wailing coming from the right he ends up ahead and they end up with egg on their faces.

He is taking this opportunity to further diminish republican support had he gone in like shrub guns blazing and talking about capital thinking republicans would have just dug in their heels in opposition instead he offered them a chance to participate and showed the American public that they would rather play politics than try to work honestly on trying to right this ship.

He wins again, and the more he does it and the more they continue with this strategy the stronger he will become and the more irrelevant what is left of the republican party will become.

Try to look past the last thirty seconds please.