> [from The Note]
>
> That’s a goose egg in the first inning of bipartisanship -- at least
> as recorded on Obama’s scorecard. (The GOP spin, in unison, is that
> Republicans were the bipartisan ones, having grabbed 11 Democrats in
> voting against the bill.)
The whole bipartisan thing is just plain annoying.
First, because anyone who speaks to it must accept the premise: Democrats are stonewallers who refuse to cooperate out of some biazarre sense of partisanship. And we all know partisanship is baaaaaaaaad.
So, from the get go, by saying, "We're going to be bipartisan," you are saying that you agree with the Republicans' characterization of the problem.
As a consequence, you cannot win. The republicans, who are speaking to their base in this debate, will simply say, "See, if democrats were bipartisan, they would have crafted partisan legistlation to begin with. Don't blame *us* for not signing the blame. Blame the democrats!"
It's a confidence game. shag