This isn't a political blog. Hell, it's barely a blog at all, and what blogginess there is certainly isn't political. That said, I'm getting a little fed up with people who say Obama caved to the GOP on the tax cuts for the wealthy.
Look, the Democrats just lost the House and nearly lost the Senate. Obama has no leverage at all, and if he tried to use the lame duck Congress to push through a liberal hobby horse at this point, he'd look like a usurper, which he would be. The American people, morons that they are, have spoken, and they want the GOP agenda on tax cuts. Period. The best Obama can do in that situation is extract whatever concessions on unemployment insurance and other miscellaneous stimulus items that he can, and call it a day. He did that. He acted like a responsible person and cut the best deal available. That's why we voted for him in the first place.
What was he supposed to do? He can make a speaking tour, carpet-bomb the blogosphere, go on Faux News, MSNBC, CNN, Mythbusters, and QVC for all I care and tell us how terrible the full Bush tax cuts for are for the deficit and the economy, and none of it will matter. It only takes one Senator to torpedo any legislation, and guess what? That Senator will probably be Ben Nelson, you know, the guy with the big "D" after his name. The Democrats can't even control their own caucuses, in either legislative body. How is that Obama's fault?
It isn't. Leave him alone. I promised I wouldn't cry...