Thanks to the wonderful "presents" the GOP is providing lately, Obama is going to have a MUCH happier Christmas than we would have guessed a few months ago.
Thank GOD!! FINALLY Obama stuck to his guns, and beat the Republicans at their own game. After a summer of Obama struggling to negotiate in good faith with Republicans, after a summer of seemingly caving to Republicans when push came to shove, Obama finally was able to out-maneuver Republicans on the issue of the two-month extension of the payroll tax reduction. Well, out-maneuver may not be the right term, as Obama simply had to watch the GOP self-destruct. A GOP-led house that’s gone mad with power, led by the rebellious (and incredibly naive) Tea Party freshmen, has continued to overplay their hand, and finally it came back to bite them.
A much weakened and humbled John Boehner had to cave. As if it wasn’t enough that the Wall Street Journal and John McCain had been incredibly harsh towards House Republicans, even some of the Tea Party Repubs had begun to question the House strategy. The GOP was being roasted in the press, and in the eyes of the public.
Just a month ago, things looked very bleak for Obama. Suddenly, things are swinging his way. There are signs the economy is starting to take off. He’s been able to strut about ending troop involvement in Iraq. But most importantly, it’s the GOP self-destructing which seems to be pushing him up in public opinion polls. Newt Gingrich jumping to the front of the Republican polls for a while? There’s NO doubt that brought some energy to Obama’s reelection campaign, as a Gingrich presidency would be a nightmare in a majority of Americans’ eyes. The House GOP implosion on this issue certainly helps. Heck, GOP Congressmen are now even calling out Michelle Obama for having a big butt! Thanks to a good news cycle over the last month, and the GOP implosion, polls that showed Obama losing in 2012 to Romney now have him up by 8 percentage points, and up by 16 points in a matchup with Gingrich.
Remember when Obama took office, and Republicans fretted about a long-term minority in Congress? Well, that certainly didn’t last very long, thanks to the GOP sweep into House control in 2010. Remember after that election, where Republicans were salivating about 2012? Heck, even a couple of months ago, Republicans were SURE they were going to re-take the Senate and the presidency. If there’s any lesson we should have learned about D.C. politics, it’s that these folks just can’t seem to handle success. No matter who is in charge, they’ll get over-confident, they’ll over-reach, or they’ll shoot themselves in the foot in some other fashion.
Republicans are learning that lesson this week. Obama couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas present. Thank you, John Boehner and the House GOP.
