UPDATE 3: Please rec this diary up - we're being buffeted by a massive category nine troll storm. Arrr. :)
My hat is off to another elegantly executed epic win for the Obama Administration. 20. Billion. Dollars.
From Wikipedia:
The rope-a-dope is performed by a boxer assuming a protected stance, in Ali's classic pose, lying against the ropes, and allowing his opponent to hit him, in the hope that the opponent will become tired and make mistakes which the boxer can exploit in a counterattack.
In competitive situations other than boxing, rope-a-dope is used to describe strategies in which one party purposely puts itself in what appears to be a losing position, attempting thereby to become the eventual victor.
A brief anatomy of a brilliant plan after the jump...
Phase 1: The Oval Office Address (POTUS's speech last night).
Much bait is dangled, i.e. "we don't know exactly how we're going to get there yet..." from the President.
followed by the predictable reaction to it...
He didn't say derfety-durf! No specifics! Wahh! Wahhh!
Phase 2: The BP 20 Billion Dollar Escrow Fund! Without a cap!
Suddenly the hue and cry for any specifics in his speech last night sound absurd.
I witnessed Eric Cantor pwning himself this morning in an interview with Andrea Mitchell. He had clearly gotten his talking points BEFORE news broke of the 20 Billion dollar BP escrow fund. When Mitchell said, "What about this fund?" Cantor was forced to begrudgingly praise Obama. It was a beautiful thing to watch:
I remember POTUS long ago saying, "Some day, I just know Eric Cantor will say something nice about me." (or something like that). Bwaha - he was right.
One should feel no guilt in savoring this political victory, even though the catastrophe in the Gulf continues. Not only is it delicious to observe, but policy-wise, it guarantees an unprecedented starting-point sum of money from a greedy oil company to help heal its victims and the planet. It's also a great segue to a larger progressive discussion and completion of an energy bill that will provide a clean energy future.
UPDATE 1: From the comments, farrelad found this from a Talking Points Memo blogger:
The 20 billion fund should be viewed as a huge accomplishment for Obama. He had no actual power to compel that aside from moral suasion and the threat of having an unhappy president. Legally, BP could have just waited for the lawsuits and drawn the whole thing out for years. As a lawyer, I find it a unique and mind-boggling accomplishment.
UPDATE 2: More from comments - grapes makes this excellent point:
Well, even in the oil patch, $20B isn't just walkin around money. It's real Benjamins.
BP set a precedent. You can bet that it got the attention of Exxon, Shell, ConocoPhillips, and all the rest. And if it didn't get theirs, it sure as hell got the attention of their investors, bankers and insurance companies.
Tillerson (CEO of Exxon) and his cronies are talking late into the night.
Tomorrow won't be business as usual.
UPDATE 4: From the comments, the much esteemed and beloved Fishgrease weighs in:
...This is, in fact a megavictory. This is what I asked for in my last diary. I asked President Obama to take BP's money. He did. Surely, not because I asked him to (I'll bet anything our President doesn't read DKos Boomer diaries), but I'll be damned if President Obama didn't take BP's money.
And yes, Congressman Barton, it was a shakedown. You god damned right it was. And it's why I contributed to Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, why I did GOTV for him and why I voted for him. The American People, in the person of the President of the United States of America shook down BP. It. Feels. Good.
I'm impressed. First time since April 20.
But I am impressed.