CBS correspondent Mark Knoller informs us that “Obama says bipartisanship, but what he wants is GOP surrender.” I kid you not. Here is part of it:
He’s appealing for a spirit of bipartisanship – urging Democrats and Republicans alike “to put aside matters of party for the good of the country.”
It’s a familiar refrain from U.S. presidents who can’t get their way in Congress.
“We must put aside our political differences if we’re ever to set our economy to rights,” said President Reagan in 1982.
“It is time to put aside partisan rivalries and work together for our nation’s future,” said President Reagan in 1987 in trying to get Congress to enact deficit reduction
“We must put aside partisanship for the sake of our nation,” said the first President Bush in 1990 in appealing for congressional cooperation on the budget.
“We must now put aside bitterness and rancor, move beyond partisanship,” urged President Clinton in 1993 in trying to get Congress to pass his economic plan.
What these presidential appeals for bipartisanship always mean is: do it my way.
This reminds me of nothing so much as Bono’s brilliant lines in “Sunday, Bloody Sunday”:
“And it’s true we are immune when fact is fiction and tv reality.”
All I can say is, if that is what Obama is doing — demanding that Republicans surrender — he’s not doing it very well. In fact, Ezra Klein thinks he could use some pointers from former Pres. Bush.
Knoller needs a dose of reality — although I’m not sure he would know what to do with it.
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