Obama is a compromiser, not a negotiator. American politics require the president to be a good and hard, horse-trader. Obama is soft. He gives in too easily and the Republicans are very aware of this and thus play their game of hardball on every issue. No bi-partisanship, when they can bluff Obama and his spineless team of advisers at every turn. As Machiavelli noted, the advisers are the "brains of the leader" and if they panic and cave in , then there is no need to negotiate, just "huff an puff" and blow the Dems. away.
This is the Obama shuffle....take a position, then move sideways, then take two steps backward and finally one step forward, and then do it again.
Obama suffers from a form of Stockholm syndrome....the carping and ranting by the unctuous Republicans and their "amen lobby" of Palin, Fox and Talk Radio, is follwed by Obama wringing his hands a' la Hamlet (to do or not to do") and then accepting their position. On the issue of the Bush tax cuts, he is showing every sign of a cave in. This will split his party, especially the base liberal wing. This opens him up for even more Republican "hard-ball".
He has to find some backbone and act as the President, not some wounded bird. Forget the bi-partisan game...the Reps. are not interested. A solid majority of Americans favor the plan to roll the tax cuts for the wealthy, even as they supported a singhle-payer medical plan. He waffled and gave in then and he is doing the same again. He has lost faith in himself, and he is quickly losing the support of his most loyal troops.
This is the Obama shuffle....take a position, then move sideways, then take two steps backward and finally one step forward, and then do it again.
Obama suffers from a form of Stockholm syndrome....the carping and ranting by the unctuous Republicans and their "amen lobby" of Palin, Fox and Talk Radio, is follwed by Obama wringing his hands a' la Hamlet (to do or not to do") and then accepting their position. On the issue of the Bush tax cuts, he is showing every sign of a cave in. This will split his party, especially the base liberal wing. This opens him up for even more Republican "hard-ball".
He has to find some backbone and act as the President, not some wounded bird. Forget the bi-partisan game...the Reps. are not interested. A solid majority of Americans favor the plan to roll the tax cuts for the wealthy, even as they supported a singhle-payer medical plan. He waffled and gave in then and he is doing the same again. He has lost faith in himself, and he is quickly losing the support of his most loyal troops.
