The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

It’s All About Him

Posted on | December 16, 2010 | 1 Comment

Having already cost House Democrats 63 seats in the mid-term election, now St. Hopey tells ’em they’ve got to sacrifice everything for him:

In urging lawmakers to vote for his tax deal, President Obama is using one of his go-to lines from the healthcare debate, according to a Democratic lawmaker.
Obama is telling members of Congress that failure to pass the tax-cut legislation could result in the end of his presidency, Rep. Peter DeFazio (Ore.) said.
“The White House is putting on tremendous pressure, making phone calls, the president is making phone calls saying this is the end of his presidency if he doesn’t get this bad deal,” he told CNN’s Eliot Spitzer.
But the White House shot back late on Wednesday.
“The president hasn’t said anything remotely like that and has never spoken with Mr. DeFazio about the issue,” said White House spokesman Tommy Vietor.

Well, of course they deny it. They always do. That’s the job of a White House spokesman, to deny stuff. 

But Obama (or whoever is twisting arms on his behalf) is basically right: Democrats in Congress cannot benefit by “distancing” themselves from a Democratic president, no matter how unpopular he may be. This was likewise true of Republicans during the Bush years.

It’s a simple reality of partisan politics. Whatever the personal disagreements within the party over policy, when it comes time to engage in political combat against the other party, it’s Sharks and Jets, baby.

And when you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way.

Category: Barack Obama

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