Read this from that insider of insider rags, The Hill:
Because while Obama would love nothing more than another 1.9 million jobs, he feels he can save his own job just by having the fight. And if he gets both the package and the fight over it, then Obama gets another four years at the White House.
If that seems nakedly cynical for a man who promised hope and change, then welcome to the realities of reelection.
After a brutal summer, administration officials are smiling again. They feel they learned the lessons of the debt-ceiling fight, and they think their first move back after August is a win-win for Obama and a classic trap for Republicans.
Administration officials said Tuesday they think Obama has successfully gone on the offensive.
My my. What a difference a debt negotiation debacle and dipping under 40% approval makes. Of course, so many of us here at the Great Orange Satan have been advocating just this sort of politics for a long time now...you know, back when the country was solidly behind the President. So as to prevent just this very scenario. But still, if the White House finally has gotten back to the brass tacks of politics 101, good on them.
What is most noticeable about the president's posture right now is that he seems happy. I think his stumping across the country day after day is doing him good. He seemed truly pleased today, and that's good. Who wants to sit down for hour after hour of one-on-one with Boehner and Cantor? I wouldn't. Better to get out there and be with the people. Leave the negotiating to the underlings.
There will never be a shortage of times the President of the United States cannot command the ear of the voter. No matter what, the President is still the President. Barack Obama has the office. I'm glad to see him finally using the way it was meant to be used.
And good on the President for throwing out the old playbook. No more one-off speeches followed up by gobbledygook and wonkspeak and bipartisan compromise and then ridiculous explanations. The president is speaking with a consistent natural voice. In clear terms. The White House must learn: winning political battles is how you eventually win legislative battles. Not through negotiations. Through politics. Republicans understand this.
But for now, at least, this is a clear sign that the “professional left” — which has long argued that showing fight is far more important to independents than chasing after compromise for its own sake — is getting what it wants.
And good on us for forcefully, tirelessly, and consistently advocating that the president, our president, my president...take the fight to the Republicans and stand up for what we believe in no matter what. We're gonna lose sometimes. But it is always better to fight and lose than not fight at all.
Win or lose, nothing pleases me more than seeing a fighting Barack Obama in good form. That's the kind of president I can believe in.