Washington’s Endless Civil War by Robert Shrum
by Robert Shrum Jan 11, 2013 4:45 AM EST
Right-wing legislators cant believe Obama is still in the White Houseand theyre ready to obstruct him at almost any cost.
Forget the permanent campaign. We are in a state of permanent political warand perhaps near permanent paralysis.
In The New York Times, Maureen Dowd bangs a persistent drum about Barack Obama as Mr. Spock, the über-rational anti-politician with a revulsion for playing the gamethe flattering, schmoozing, and ring-kissing needed to coax Congress into doing what he wants. The complaint has morphed into a meme that offers a simple way through: presumably Obama-the-back-slapper would soon be signing bills left and right.
And like a lot of simple explanations, its tempting; it resonates with prevailing perceptions and preconceptions; and at least in Dowds prose, its interesting and diverting.
But its a diversion that hardly survives a few minutes of thought. Yes, this president is not a garrulous, anecdote-trading phone buddy with members of Congress like, say, Bill Clintonalthough that didnt keep the GOP House from impeaching him or shutting down the government. Does anybody really believe that John Boehner would jeopardize his zombie speakership for regular rounds of golf with Barack Obama at Joint Base Andrews? Or that copious cups of tea in the Oval Office would persuade Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell to escalate the risk of a Tea Party challenge to his re-nomination in the 2014 Kentucky primary?
-snip-
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/11/washington-s-endless-civil-war.html