Why do some pundits say that PBO has "spent his political capital" on the cliff deal?

[panader0]

Wait a second. He hasn't even been sworn in yet and all of his clout is gone already?

[alcibiades_mystery]

1. Because they have to say something negative about the President in order to be paid

[upaloopa]

2. They need to do their best to keep the political fight going.

It would make boring news to report the truth that Obama is kicking repub ass.

[fleur-de-lisa]

3. THIS is what the pundits are yakking about?

With all the drama about to unfold regarding Boehner's future as Speaker, THIS is what the pundits are yakking about? Wow!

[octoberlib]

4. It's bullshite. I've seen articles today about a" Democratic civil war"

Objectivity gets in the way of factual reporting.

[Ken Burch]

5. Because they STILL can't accept that they couldn't will his defeat.

It's intolerable to them that the peasants actually defied their command at the polls.

[BlueStreak]

6. Because that was his moment of MAXIMUM LEVERAGE and he basically got nothing

He will never again have that much leverage all at the same time:

1) He just won an election with a strong mandate on the very subject of "the cliff"

2) The Bush taxes were expiring automatically and the sequester law was set up to happen at that same time. If he did nothing he would come out way ahead.

3) The House had some motivation to act before their term ended because they lose numbers starting tomorrow.

This is the sort of thing that will go into Polisci textbooks for generations -- taking an overwhelming set of circumstances and turning it into at very best, a lukewarm, break-even proposition, and at worst, a significant step backwards.

By locking in about 98% of the BUSH tax rates as permanent (non-expiring) law, he has given the Republicans the tools to dismantle the parts of government we value the most.

I don't know about "political capital". Basically that just means your opponent fears you because of your popularity. Does anybody in DC fear Obama?

Get it?