what do you applaud from washington?

Well, sorry, but Bob Corker just decided to say “no“.  What can you do?

Mr. Obama’s triumph in securing the deal — without the support of a single member of the party now in control of Congress — is refashioning the definition of victory for a waning presidency in the era of divided government.

This… may or may not be the case???  I don’t know… it does put a “what the heck?” thought as the (small) weekly Friday protest marches with the “No War On Iran” sign, even if the signs about Israel remain germane enough.  (The next step in Obama’s plan is to commit more money for Israel.)  Things are beyond partisan d and partisan r on both counts.

But I’m curious about the next statement.

While bipartisan victories tend to be those most celebrated outside of Washington, success by the president is now often measured more by the scope of the policy achieved than by any claim of sweeping consensus.

Bipartisan victories … most celebrated outside of Washington…

Hrm.  I suppose the trade agreement, which Obama won by going to Republican support against Democratic opposition was…
… celebrated?

Actually what you find is that bipartisan victories are most celebrated inside Washington… David Brooks will applaud.  A Gang of Seven will be heralded.  And you can sneer at the partisans.

Leave a Reply