I've been around for a long time and have never witnessed a political beating as bad as we just handed the GOP. And to think, it was masterminded by Democrats!?!?
I felt sure that the GOP was on their last legs after Obama won the Presidency in 2008. Then the President decided to play nice and make the irrelevant looney toons appear as equal partners. It was a big mistake. And I was angry with him for it. I truly felt that they were on their last legs and he threw them a life preserver.
Unexpected by me, the President learned from that fiasco. While I expected him to remain true to form he decided that he would no longer bargain with the terrorists.
My hope going forward is that he also learned lessons about offering up the safety net to get a deal with these morons. I haven't gotten a sense yet that he'll fight harder to do the right thing for the needy versus doing the right thing for what he perceives would be better for his legacy. I'm hopeful.