To paraphrase the crow in Disney’s Dumbo, I’ve seen a
peanut stand, I’ve heard a rubber band, and often I’ve seen
presidents lie. But now I’m sure I’ve seen everything, because I
saw a president replace himself in the middle of a press conference
with someone he must believe to be possessed of greater political
skill, charm, and credibility. The first episode of Bubba’s
Back came at the tail end of the latest weekly chapter of
Obama’s annus horribilis.
First came Barry’s Monday announcement of a deal with
Republicans to extend the Bush-era tax rates. Then there was the
Tuesday presser at which the nicest thing the president said about
the Republicans he’d just made a deal with was to call them
“hostage takers.” He didn’t only excoriate Republicans: he bashed
the heck out of the already-critical Dems, calling them “purists”
for questioning the deal.
Day after day, Obama proved his weakness and lack of basic
political skills. When you make a deal you say at least one nice
thing about the other side and maybe yuk it up about how hard it
was to corral your unruly allies.
We cynics thought on Monday that the deal really wasn’t
done yet. On Tuesday, Obama started to come to the realization that
the monster he created was no longer under his spell.
And then came Wednesday when the FrankenHouse monster
broke its chains. The monster — the whole House Democratic Caucus
— met to reject the deal. The FrankenHouse Dems were performing
just as Obama should have expected. In the stimulus bill, Obamacare
and so much else, the president grandiosely announced his idea and
then stood aloof from the political work essential to passing
legislation. The House Dems (and their Senate counterparts) were in
complete control and rammed the bills through without even
bothering to notice that there were Republicans in the room. Before
the tax “deal,” the only dealmaking that had been done was between
the various Dem factions, their union bosses, and the
AMA.
The Wednesday House caucus rebellion demanded a seat at
the table which — before the tax “deal” — they had dominated.
Obama had never bothered to dirty his hands in actual congressional
dealmaking before, so the rebellion was a reaction anyone could
have predicted. Anyone except Barry.
There were many reports of boorish behavior at the
meeting, some emanating from members who were there. The libs
reportedly chanted “just say no” and a few declaimed “f*** Obama.”
When Republicans say such things — as Vice President Cheney did to
uberlib Pat Leahy some years ago in the Senate cloakroom — they
have at least the courage to say it in person.
By Friday, even Democrats were admitting that which we
knew in 2008: Barry knows how to campaign but not how to perform
the basic tasks necessary to govern. And it’s worse than that.
Leadership is not only beyond him, he apparently views it as just
too much bother. And, by Friday, Obama’s “deal” was unmade. So he
brought Bubba back to town to lobby the fractious Dems and their
media pals.
At Friday’s presser, after playing the concerned
president, Obama looked at his watch, announced that he was keeping
the First Lady waiting too long, and stalked out of the briefing
room, leaving the podium to Bubba who kept it for another thirty
minutes. It was more than a little amusing to see a startled
presidential press secretary Robert Gibbs leap out of his chair to
follow his boss out of the room.
It’s sad that we Americans and our political process are
such burdens to Barry Obama. He’d obviously be more comfortable if
he were the president of an unpopulated corner of Mongolia. His
discomfort is proof of weakness and that the Republicans, if they
stick to their guns, can make a clean sweep of the lame duck
session.
Obama — and Congress — have to accomplish a few things
before the 111th Congress adjourns for good. The tax rates have to
be set, quickly, at the Bush rates and for at least two years. If
they’re not, all those investors facing a huge increase in capital
gains taxes on January 1, 2011, will sell this year, causing a big
drop in the Dow. Assurances from departing dolts — such as
Florida’s Alan Grayson that there’s no need to pass a bill now
because current tax rates could be restored retroactively in
January - will not prevent a huge stock market drop before
Christmas. And Congress, lest the government close for a while, has
to pass another omnibus spending bill before they bail
out.
But other than those actions, the Republicans need to
stick to their blockade of any other actions. They’ve about won the
START treaty and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” battles. The nightmarish
“DREAM” act, another route to amnesty for illegal aliens, has
virtually no chance of being confirmed unless Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Az)
suddenly caves in, which is increasingly unlikely. None of these
bills needs to be passed this year, if ever.
Nancy Pelosi will fight to the bitter end, and Hapless
Harry Reid will fumble and stumble along to the finish. They are
desperate to achieve more liberal victories before relinquishing
power in January. But the Republicans place themselves
unnecessarily in danger by misreading Sun Tzu.
The Chinese philosopher-general, whose 300 B.C. work
The Thirteen Chapters we now read under the title The
Art of War, is often misquoted to have written that when an
adversary is destroying himself, don’t interfere.
But his advice was more specific. He wrote that a great
general would not attack a cornered adversary, forcing him to fight
to the death. The Dems aren’t quite cornered: they still have
considerable power, but they are in disarray. The master wrote,
“…those skilled in war avoid the enemy when his spirit is keen and
attack him when it is sluggish and his soldiers
homesick.”
In World War II, the submarine service had a tradition
that a sub returning to port after an unbroken string of successes
would post a broom on its mast to proclaim a clean sweep. A
Republican clean sweep of the lame duck is within the GOP’s
grasp.
Now is the time for the Republicans to reject compromise
on START, DREAM, and DADT. Gen. George Patton used to quote
Frederick II of Prussia: “L’audace, l’audace,
toujours l’audace.” That should be the Republicans’ standing
order for the remainder of this Congress. Adhering to that
principle, they can earn their clean sweep brooms and set the stage
for next year.
