Obamanesque

A lot of people are trying to second guess Obama now, already, and many scribes (not necessarily pundits) are already criticizing him with the obvious and perhaps expected barbs. You know, he’s not doing what he said he’d do, he’s too partisan or he’s not partisan enough, he’s letting the other side get away with their lame excuses, he’s pandering to the political establishment, and so on. Well, for one thing, that establishment has been around for a long time and is very deeply entrenched (see Webster’s). You can’t tear it down overnight (or even blow it up). You have to work with it, work with what you’ve got, or you have nothing. Recall G. W. Bush on that one, too, and then check Webster’s again for petulance, pissant and hubris, as in Dick, Don and Rush

Barack Obama is an intelligent man, and he knows what he has to do to make each step in the right (or would that be positive) direction. The bottom line in Washington, or any democratic process crowded with human self-interest, is negotiation. And if your grandfather didn’t tell you what negotiation is all about, go and ask him now, because he’ll probably tell you, “Let the other guy do the talking, and just listen.” And then when he’s done, you’ll know what to say next to capitalize on what the other guy has just divulged. You will have the advantage, most likely, because the other guy will have shot his wad first.

So, now these wads are piled up all over the place, all around Washington and all around Obama. You can be sure he will know where to leave them as he takes out the trash and tries to clean up the mess. We could all listen and learn something for a change, as in his nationally-televised press conference this evening.