Sophisticated Washington Politics

Here is Paul Krugman giving us "mere mortals" some insight into that "3-dimensional chess" that Obama and his inner circle have dazzled the world with while delivering that "stunning win" of Democrats over Republicans in that recent "debt ceiling" food fight in Washington. From Krugman's NY Times blog:

Hippie Punching

Via Greg Sargent, I learn that some people in the Obama campaign really, really dislike people like me, who complain when the president gives in to GOP blackmail.

Well, at least they’re paying attention.

I would say this: on one side you have the GOP, which responds to completely crazed Tea Party demands by doing all it can to assure the hard right that it’s on its side. On the other, you have the Democratic establishment or at least part thereof, which responds to complaints from its own base that it’s going too easy on the crazies by lashing out at the base, with a bit of bearded-professor bashing on the side.

Way to strengthen your bargaining position, guys.

The Obama "team" remind me of the "sophisticates" that you were stuck with when you played sandlot baseball as a kid. At the end of choosing side you were stuck with the last "player" that nobody wanted to pick. This player was such a danger on the field that you desperately wanted to assign him a position such as "water boy" or "bat handler" so that he wouldn't get a chance to get on the field and help you "win" by giving inside the park homeruns to the other team!

That Obama has no idea that his Rambo-esque assault rifle of "sophisticated negotiation" is a water pistol without water is a revelation. The guy is so slicked back with his own glory that he has no clue that his pistol has become so bone dry that it won't even dribble a few drops to keep up the pretense of "fire power".

I'm now convinced that if I were playing sandlot baseball and Obama were the last kid left unchosen and it was my pick, I would simply throw down my glove and give the game to the opponents. It wouldn't be worth going through the charade of playing the game. I would know that the whole time Obama would be "negotiating" a win for me by giving points to the opposing team "in the spirit of compromise". I couldn't get batters up fast enough to belt hits to counter his giveaway runs. Obama would so magnanimously barter away so many runs in his "3-dimensional chess playing" wonderland of serious ball playing that it simply would make no sense for me to take the field and even try to play the game.