The Long Game Strategy

[babylonsister]

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/07/the_long_game_strategy.html


The Long Game Strategy
Ezra Klein


"It's always darkest before the dawn," goes the old saying. The Washington version is that it's always darkest before the deal. Legislators have a tendency to seem maximally rebellious in the days before a piece of legislation is actually finished. The reason is intuitive enough: That's when threats have an effect. A Blue Dog who talked down health-care reform six months ago couldn't have gotten a quote in his local paper. A Blue Dog who talks it down now gets a front-pager in Politico and a solicitous phone call from Rahm Emmanuel asking what, exactly, would make the bill more appealing.

And as I argued yesterday, I don't even think it's particularly dark. I seem to be rare in having been quite a bit more pessimistic at other points in the process than I am at this juncture. But either way, it's worth making one point on the White House's agonizing decision to largely hold the president in reserve until this week, and its legislative hardball until conference committee: This isn't a new strategy.

In fact, it's a pattern. It was White House officials' approach to stimulus. It was their approach to the summer months of the general election. It was their approach to the months leading up to Iowa in the primary campaign. They have a habit of holding their fire till long after supporters are screaming for them to enter the fray. They have a tendency to take a long view of a project -- whether that project is a campaign or a bill -- and identify the point of, hopefully, maximal impact, and ignore the calls to respond to bad news cycles that precede that chosen moment. That leaves a lot of their allies in agony as they wait for the White House to defend itself, but it's worked pretty well so far.

[Avalux]

1. Excellent article. K & R. n/t

[Forkboy]

2. You're a posting machine.

Don't you ever just take a day and watch some game shows or something? :D

[scheming daemons]

8. I'm glad she is.... she helps keep the trolls and disruptors at bay

[Forkboy]

9. I'm glad she is, too. Though I may need glasses soon for all the reading.

[FrenchieCat]

3. It does seem that Obama allows the public to get into an angs

before hitting the scene......

because the angs of getting nothing done finally dawns
on us long enough to achieve first, some sort of unity,
and then action on our part.

The public doesn't like partisanship....
but the Republican just offered it up big time,
again.

[PopSixSquish]

4. The Republicans Always Snatch Defeat From the Jaws of Victory

They just can't help themselves...

[Proud Liberal Dem]

5. DU is a TERRIFIC example of the kind of "Obama Angst" Klein is talking about

Amazingly, no matter how many times he uses the same strategy, a lot of people here still start flipping out during every major policy debate about Obama's lack of leadership and/or will to take the opposition on. I mean, whatever happened to:









It always seemed to help comfort us during the election. Maybe we need to keep this in mind before the next time we think Obama is adrift and/or has abandoned us?

[Doctor_Horrible]

6. facepalm... I was just saying - "it's like when they almost let the stimulus slip away..." This post

makes my frustration make sense -- I want it to happen now and they're just a lot more patient than me. Which, I suppose, would explain why they're - you know - the boss of this place. :)

[Spazito]

7. I found this tidbit hilarious...

"... and a solicitous phone call from Rahm Emmanuel asking what, exactly, would make the bill more appealing."


From all I have heard and read about Rahm Emmanuel, his "solicitous" phonecall would begin with "What the fuck" and end with "you fucker"

:rofl:

[babylonsister]

10. I laughed when I read your post because of this little

nugget I saw yesterday ;):

http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2009/07/21/emanuels-language-not-improving/

Emanuel's language not improving
@ 3:10 pm by Hill Staff

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), in the process of defending President Barack Obama's leadership on health care reform to reporters on Tuesday, said White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's well-known penchant hasn't changed now that the administration is a half-year old.

Reid said Emanuel called him twice during lunch on Tuesday to discuss healthcare reform, and apparently peppered his language with expletives.

"I would like to say his language is getting better, but I think it's getting worse," Reid said.

- J. Taylor Rushing

[Odin2005]

12. If I were in Rahm's position I'd be swearing like drunken sailor, too.

The Blue Dog's BS pisses me off!

[Spazito]

14. LOL! Now I KNOW the author of the article had to have used...

the word 'solicitous' satirically! Even this morning, seeing that word used in conjunction with Rahm Emmanuel sends me into fits of laughter!

:rofl:

[Odin2005]

11. Don't forget about a special delivery of rotten fish!

:rofl:

[Spazito]

13. Yep! I confess that the delivery of fish was what immediately came...

to mind when I read the word solicitous along with Rahm's well known reputation for using expletives! I have come to the conclusion the writer of the piece had to be using 'solicitous' satirically, he just HAD to be!

:rofl: