http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/32225.html
President Barack Obama told House Republicans Friday that Washington can’t break through partisan gridlock “if we can’t move past the politics of no” – then engaged with them in an extraordinary back-and-forth straight out of the House of Commons.
In a remarkable exchange, Obama took Republicans to task for portraying health care reform as a “Bolshevik plot” – even though, he said, many parts of the bill were consistent with Republican principles.
Obama began with a conciliatory tone, telling Republicans that he expects them to challenge his ideas – and that he understands that there are sometimes fundamental policy differences between the parties.
"Having differences of opinion, having a real debate about matters of domestic policy and national security, that's something that's not only good for our country, it's absolutely essential,” he said.
But he also criticized the Republicans for reflexively opposing his policies – even when, he said, they were in line with GOP principles. And the encounter got progressively more raucous from there.
Geeze, I thought this guy was supposed to be smart! I mean, lecturing and scolding isn't the way to convince people you're right. In fact, it comes across as high-handed and arrogant. "Let me tell you where you're wrong," Obama said to the GOP today.
PresBo seems to have little respect for any part of the government that is not in lockstep with his agenda. He blasts Republicans and moderate Democrats, and he even rails angrily against the United States Supreme Court!
I'm beginning to see some similarities between Obama's behavior and that of a bossy eight-year-old. He tells everybody what to do and then pitches a fit when they don't do it.
Entertaining, but hardly Presidential.
I'm beginning to wish this kid would just take his ball and go home...
ReplyDeleteI wish I had known this event would be on TV so I could have watched it.
ReplyDeleteTo me, it appears that President Obama has become desperate and is "shadow boxing" with a "straw man", the Republican Party.
I think you're right. PresBo seems to operate best when he has an enemy to villify. He's been hammering banks and evil insurance companies all year. Now, in order to improve his party's chances this fall, he has stepped up attempts to villify the GOP. And while I have no doubt there is quite a bit of partisanship going on, blaming the GOP for your defeat is like McDonalds claiming they lost market share because Winn-Dixie started selling burgers from their deli.
ReplyDeleteRight now Democrats have ALL the power and are ignoring Republicans almost entirely. The Democrats ignore them, bash them, and insult them.... and then wonder why they aren't anxious to cooperate. They brought a lot of this on themselves.