Zombie Presidency

Stick a fork in him. [Link]

If the commenters at the Huffington Post, and the hosts and guests at MSNBC, are any guide, the Bush tax cut deal has rendered the Obama presidency a zombie.  It looks alive and is even able to move and groan a bit, but it’s mostly dead.

foxinretreat—CLASS WARFARE and some civil unrest , brewing in a neighborhood near you. Hey oligarchs how it turns out is anybody’s guess. I hope Wikileaks unleashes its info on the banks ASAP, I could care less if WS has to tank to stop this madness.

mjtaylor22—THEY GOT MOR EBANG FOR THEIR BUCK, HOW BOUT INCREASE UI PAYMENTS, AND SEND EVERY CITIZEN A CHECK FOR AT LEAST 1,000..SORRY TAX PAYING CITIZEN……

Linda Mulenbach—Dear Mr. President. You had me, and then you lost me! Can we please have a democratic primary challenger! I am DONE with Obama.

Chefbob50—Wanted: One backbone and set of balls send to B. Obama c/o 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Wash. D.C.

Well, Chefbob, you obviously sent Obama your heart in 2008. Why not complete the deal now?  There’s more HuffPo commentary at the link, including stuff like this:

srheard—The next time I vote for a President, I am going to rank strong negotiating skills right up there with literacy and intellect.

That’s funny.  Conservatives brought up the “competency” argument in 2008 and got slapped with the race card.  Now here’s a liberal playing competency against Obama.  I happened to be watching MSNBC’s Ed Schultz (so you don’t have to) when the deal came down on Monday.  His guest was liberal Rep. Keith Ellison.  I thought the two might have an on-air rage party.

Plus, inflammatory language about Republicans being hostage takers. A new of civility in government. [Link]

UPDATE More on hostage taking. [Link]

I mean how many ways was this statement stupid?

First, it was unnecessary.  You don’t need a metaphor to explain.  You needed the tax cut and this was the price you were willing to pay to get it.

Second, it is petulant and un-presidential.   To quote Peter Wehner, “Obama has mastered the ability to look both unprincipled and graceless at the same time.”  Not too long ago, Evan Thomas gushed “I mean in a way Obama’s standing above the country, above – above the world, he’s sort of God.”  Now he has come down to Earth.

Third, it is demonizing your fellow Americans as though they were enemies of this nation. So much for being post-partisan.

Finally, it tells the world that you will negotiate with terrorists. All they have to do is take live hostages and hurt them, and Obama will negotiate.  At one point in time, Obama and his handlers denied that he would negotiate with terrorists.  But now he has cleared up any ambiguity.