For those doubting that President Obama understands that Republicans simply want to oppose everything he does, or that he is under some happy delusions about a "bipartisanship" that doesn't really exist, this exchange between Obama and John Boehner will come as a pleasant surprise:
At the private White House meeting today between Obama and Congressional leaders, the President and John Boehner got into a testy exchange, aides say, with Obama charging that the GOP is just out to kill all his initiatives.
Greg Sargent's Plum Line is reporting that President Obama was "irked" at Boehner's insistence that Obama simply drop such issues as healthcare reform and cap and trade:
According to aides familiar with the discussion, Boehner made the case that long-term concern over Dem policies — health care, cap and trade — was leading to uncertainty in the private sector, damaging job creation efforts. Boehner said the only way to get the economy moving again is to put these issues behind us.
Right, John, let's just put all those troublesome issues "behind us". Maybe if we pretend they don't exist, they'll solve themselves. It's little wonder that President Obama was irritated:
That apparently irked the President, aides say, who accused Boehner of just wanting to kill all his initiatives. Boehner shot back that this was false, that Republicans are serious about bipartisan cooperation.
What a disingenuous clown (Boehner, I mean): we're serious about "bipartisanship" just as long as you drop your entire agenda! Again, I don't wonder that the President was annoyed by the conversation:
That prompted the President to push back again, aides say, arguing that the White House isn’t getting enough credit for the part of the stimulus that boosts federal funding for state Medicaid programs, arguing it has had a positive effect on the economy.
Yes, President Obama gets it: the GOP is about nothing but obstructionism. Yes, he continues to talk of "bipartisanship", which is actually pretty standard Washington happy talk. But if you think his eyes aren't open to what Republicans are trying to do to his agenda, you underestimate him. He gets what they're doing. Now, what will he do about it?
**************************************************************************
UPDATE: Greg Sargent has received a response from Robert Gibbs:
Robert Gibbs just got in touch to clarify a key nuance. He confirmed there was an exchange over Boehner’s insistence on more certainty for business. But he said it was a bit different than recounted above.
Gibbs said that Obama responded to Boehner’s point by saying the certainty businesses crave would best be achieved if Dems and Republicans prove that they are capable of working together, if they prove that Washington can be made to work. The President added that Republicans merely want Dems to pledge not to rock the boat and to do nothing on the big issues.
Boehner, Gibbs says, responded that this wasn’t his argument — that he did in fact want to "settle" these issues. The President replied that by all means, these issues should be settled — by Dems and Republicans working to solve them.
Gibbs confirmed that the exchange had an edge, though he said the testiest part occured in the back and forth over the debt commission.
Note: I previously did not quote the part of the article that dealt with the "back and forth over the debt commission". Here it is:
Obama asked Boehner and Mitch McConnell if they were prepared to commit to appointing members to the commission. Boehner pushed back, aides say, arguing that if the White House is serious about cutting spending, he should should start now, and suggested Obama use his rescissions authority to send spending cut proposals to the Hill.
Boehner pledged GOP cooperation if Obama sent such proposals to Congress. But he and McConnell refused to commit to appointing members to the commission.
Again, I think this confirms what set Obama off: Boehner and McConnell refusing to commit even on an issue (debt commission) that is supposedly one of the GOP's bread and butter issues. If he can't get any Republican help on reducing the deficit, what exactly can he count on them for? We, of course, already know the answer to that question, and apparently so does the President.