Friday, December 30, 2011

Throwing a Bone

Chew on this article from the New York Times for a while and let me know what you think. One passage to call out:

White House officials, however, counter that Mr. Obama’s detachment from Congress could end up benefiting him politically. After all, many Americans regard this Congress as dysfunctional, with abysmal approval ratings.

“We have a culture here where people actively dislike everything about this whole city,” one senior administration official said of Washington, adding, “the only leverage he has right now is as an outsider.” Another official argued that Mr. Obama’s perceived distance from Congress is partly why he is viewed as the clear winner of the payroll tax cut fight.

In fact, Mr. Obama’s re-election strategy involves running against Congress, particularly the Republican-led House, calling attention to its inability to pass even the simplest legislation without resorting to threats to shut down the government or default on the country’s debt.

Remind me again -- who runs the Senate?

5 comments:

Brad Carlson said...

Remind me again -- who runs the Senate?

That would be the Dems, who assumed the majority was back in 2006.

Incidentally, which chamber of Congress has not passed a budget in 975 days?????

W.B. Picklesworth said...

He can try all the little games he likes, but his fundamental strategy relies entirely upon the assumption that a majority of Americans are retarded. I wonder about some of us, but there is simply too much evidence that he can't hide or obfuscate. Come November time he will be justly massacred.

Bike Bubba said...

Regarding whether Americans are retarded; well, we DID elect a guy with no experience running things, radical political associations, and who grew up politically in one of the nation's most corrupt cities.

Unless there is mass repentance or smartening, we could get him re-elected.

Mr. D said...

BB, recall how Obama was sold. Consider this enconia:

He has within him the possibility to change the direction and tone of American foreign policy, which need changing; his rise will serve as a practical rebuke to the past five years, which need rebuking; his victory would provide a fresh start in a nation in which a fresh start would come as a national relief. He climbed steep stairs, born off the continent with no father to guide, a dreamy, abandoning mother, mixed race, no connections. He rose with guts and gifts. He is steady, calm, and, in terms of the execution of his political ascent, still the primary and almost only area in which his executive abilities can be discerned, he shows good judgment in terms of whom to hire and consult, what steps to take and moves to make.

That was Peggy Noonan. Think that narrative will be operative this time around? I sure don't.

Bike Bubba said...

I never thought Noonan was on crack, but I stand corrected....