Behold!  David Ignatius offers advice to Barack Obama as he moves on into his second term.  And… um… good lord the world of Punditry is insipid at times.

First off, we get this citation of the genius strategizing of David Plouffe as an example of how Obama should pursue his policy course.

Plouffe’s genius was to decide early on that the race depended on nine battleground states; if he could deliver those states by a relentless and sometimes ruthless assault, he would win the larger victory.

Yes.  This is Romney’s campaign strategy as well.  I suppose you can argue that Obama had an “Expand the Map” dictum in 2008 where at teh end of the day he pursued Montana and North Dakota and Georgia for the Hell of it, and in 2012 he contracted the map and threw away his chances at Missouri and Indiana and int he end North Carolina, but we’re still left at the basic premise that this is so broad as to be pointless.

After chiding Obama on his battles over Health Care (which, policy wise he won… politics wise he — lost and then won?  As, I may as well mention with reference to his Lyndon Johnson fixation — Johnson ended up losing politically where he won in that brief sliver of time policy-wise)… and on Israel — Palestine (Yes!  Solve that now.  Just like Clinton did for his second term!)
And on the quote from Lyndon Johnson “What the Hell is the Presidency for?” his suggestion on what Obama should do

 Mitt Romney’s generous concession speech Tuesday night opened a possible door, and the president should follow up his statement that he will “look forward to sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward.” The president and his new Treasury secretary (Jack Lew?) should take the next step and ask Romney to help close the budget deal the country needs.

What should he do with Mitt Romney now?  Question:  What the Hell is an Election for?

And on to foreign policy — where he will solve the Israel — Palestine problem (again — Good luck!  At least on the domestic front of the Health Care “five different president pursued it and failed” might be pulled off — that didn’t involve actual violence and people blowing people up if they didn’t get their way on things) — we have his Secretary of State pick…

John Kerry.  Who may or may not be a good pick, but the reasoning David Ignatius gives is … interesting.

John Kerry is an experienced man who thinks outside the box and is willing to take risks.

Granted, John Kerry did some interesting things during the Reagan years which can be called “taking risks” (spurred into the Iran Contra hearings). And he’s done things in the Obama Administration while most people weren’t looking which qualifies him … maybe… in that label.  But while he was in the spotlight in the 2004 campaign and just before that… it was kind of the exact opposite.  I’d think David Ignatius would have to clarify how Kerry fits the opposite mode of what his public persona came to be.

… And the Beat goes on.

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