compromise is like a bowel movement: it may be necessary, but it is distasteful to announce it

[yurbud]

Poll question: compromise is like a bowel movement: it may be necessary, but it is distasteful to announce it

ahead of time.

Obama is not reassuring Democrats or the general public when he announces compromise before negotiations have even started.

It is best to announce your ideals and the policy you will fight for, then after actually going to the mat to get those ideals enacted, including using the bully pulpit to get the public to pressure your political opponents to give ground, and then when you've gone as far as you can, compromise as close as possible to the end, but apologize and say exactly who was the problem and what they demanded for their vote or their excuse for not giving it no matter what.

To do it the way Obama does is the equivalent of walking into a car dealership and telling them you are willing to pay a price they are comfortable with before you even say what model you want.

The Republicans seem to understand this, the Democrats, and Obama in particular, seem to think it's a virtue to tell us they are ready to pinch a loaf of compromise before their lunch has even reached the last station.

[polichick]

1. If you announce the "compromise" ahead of time, the other side gives nothing. nt

[rawtribe]

2. Obama doesn't negotiate

He capitulates.

:mad:

[Igel]

9. I liked the formulation that I read today in some op-ed piece.

Obama starts off by negotiating with himself.

Of course, this isn't a reasonable way of doing things, for a few reasons.

First, it makes your initial offer not what you'd want it to be. It's one thing to be reasonable with your initial offer; it's another to try to strike a bargain with yourself.

Second, it guarantees that either negotiations will break down because you firmly believe that you've already given up something to your opponent when you haven't and therefore insist on your starting offer; or you wind up giving up more than you need.

Third, since you're negotiating with yourself, representing both your view and the other's view, it pays to have in mind what the other view really is, what they think is important, what they'd compromise on. That's hard to know ahead of time. Obama's shown no flair for divining from what a few repub spokesfolk say what the mass of repubs will eventually decide is important and what can be given up; instead we hear that he's already compromised, presumably on what the think is important, only to have most of them say, "No, that's something we object to, too."

I'd add a fourth, but given how 2 is longer than 3 and 3 is much longer than 2 nobody would have the patience to spend the evening reading my fourth reason. ;-)

[iamjoy]

3. Recommend

If only because I like the juxtaposition between political and scatological

[yurbud]

6. comparing it to making sausage is too kind--someone

Will still find the sausage appealing (though I imagine David Vitter might find thd bowel movement analogy appealing too).

[rug]

4. Allowing Republicans to take a bowel movement on your shoes is not compromise either.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. That last sentence is an all-timer.

Tx for the laugh.

[ibegurpard]

7. and sometimes, you have to walk away from the table and get nothing at all

[JVS]

8. This is certainly going to make watching the politicians speeches more humorous.

Especially when they go on and on about how they're going to take a dump.

K&R

[Phx_Dem]

10. I haven't heard any compromise announcement. n/t

[yurbud]

11. so you didnt follow the stimulus, health care reform,

And now Obama's reaction to midterm election?