Lawrence O'Donnell: What you are seeing is the most masterful rope-a-dope ever seen by a president

[kpete]

Tue Jul 12, 2011 at 04:07 AM PDT
Lawrence O'Donnell: What you are seeing is the most masterful rope-a-dope ever seen by a president

by Eclectablog


This made me go to bed late last night. Brilliant analysis. Whenever I find myself doubting what the president is doing, I'm always reassured by recalling how many previous times I have had those doubts only to be shown by the end that his strategy was brilliant and successful, achieving the best possible results given the situation.



***** "What you are now witnessing is the most masterful rope-a-dope ever performed by a president against an opposition party in Congress. It began months ago... Joe Biden then lead negotiations with House Republicans about how to find a compromise position on the White House position of doing nothing but raising the debt ceiling and the Republicans position of cutting $4 trillion in spending while raising the debt ceiling. Biden and House Democrats then rope-a-doped the Republicans into weeks of discussions over trillions of dollars of spending cuts. And during that time, Democrats appeared to be increasingly willing to go along with trillions of dollars of spending cuts -- possibly as much as three trillion. Then Biden and the President insisted that there be at least a trillion in tax revenue increases and Republican Eric Cantor fell for the Obama ultimatum and walked out of the talks doing exactly what the President wanted him to do because Cantor was thereby proving to the country once again that President Obama was willing to be much more flexible and reasonable in these negotiations and compromises with Republicans than Republicans were willing to be with the President. Specific policy issues aside, President Obama has already won the public contest of who appears to be more reasonable and he won that weeks ago."



O'Donnell then goes onto explain how Republicans are now running from their own positions with the end of this game very likely leading to a passage of the debt ceiling without any preconditions, the position the President wanted from Day One.



****"The more President Obama pushes for the $4 trillion package, the more Boehner retreats from it. The President is finally capitalizing on a phenomenon that has been obvious from the start of his presidency: if he is in favor of something then the Republicans are opposed -- it's as simple as that. Here is the President embracing the Republicans number so now the Republicans must be against their own number. This, THIS! is a work of strategic brilliance by the President.

VIDEO & the rest:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/07/12/993754/-Lawrence-ODonnell:-What-you-are-seeing-is-the-most-masterful-rope-a-dope-ever-seen-by-a-president?via=siderec

[Larkspur]

1. Ah yes, the multi-dimensional chess phenomenon

I don't buy it. Obama has no problem cutting SS and Medicare benefits to working Americans and would gladly trade them for a "bipartisan" deal with the Rethugicans.

[jtown1123]

3. Absurd. O'Donnell is a shill for the White House. Propagandist.

[jaxx]

8. LOL now that's funny!!

[FarLeftFist]

30. You're being sarcastic?

I hope.

[MNBrewer]

4. That's what I think, too, but I hope I'm wrong.

I Really REALLY do.

[jaxx]

7. What has been cut in those programs?

What do you know that we don't?

[Bake]

21. Nothing YET. But you don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows.

The wind from the White House, that is, not from the people.

Bake

[jaxx]

31. At least you agree that nothing has been cut.

That's a start.

[Bake]

32. Yes, because nothing's been DONE yet.

I'll wait and see. But I can see which way the wind blows from this White House. I hope I'm wrong. But the goalposts keep moving ...

Bake

[jaxx]

34. Ok fair enough. Wait and see.

I think the WH is looking out for the people or they wouldn't be wanting tax breaks to stop.

[FarLeftFist]

27. That could be part of the strategy also...

By saying he is willing to raise the SS age (while knowing they aren't going to agree on tax hikes) he is walking away looking like the sane one and the one willing to sacrifice while the republicons look like all they care about are corporate jets. Obama knows damn well that the cons aren't budging and that this debt ceiling will be raised using the Constitutional amendment and with no pre-conditions. He's just rubbing salt in their wounds.

[LoZoccolo]

28. Why do you think that? n/t

[SDuderstadt]

2. I couldn't agree...

more.

[Maeve]

5. I sincerely hope that is true

And I suspect we are seeing the latest over-reach by Republicans begin to destroy what power they have...

[GreenPartyVoter]

10. I hope so too.

[mcar]

6. Thanks for this

A refreshing analysis.

[WingDinger]

9. Wrote a song about it, and it goes like this

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/WingDinger/70
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/WingDinger/70
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/WingDinger/29

[poverlay]

11. I may get lambasted for this by those more interested in their own absolute surety & anger, but

the whole cutting SS willingness has rang false to me since day one.

[Bobbie Jo]

24. +1 of course.

Think people, think.

The crop of doubt was planted here 2+ years ago. The caretakers continue to provide a never-ending supply of water and fertilizer.

[LatteLibertine]

12. Like others, I dearly hope this is the case

[DefenseLawyer]

13. It's quiet... Too quiet.... n/t

[Mz Pip]

14. I hope so

My concern is that the GOP will decide to go along with this,rather than continue with their over reaching. If I understand this correctly the GOP will get to keep all of its sacred cows and still get a win in whittling away at Medicare and SS. In exchange for what? A small raise in the debt ceiling?

If this is really the deal that is being discussed the GOP would be fools not to take it. They get to keep their goodies and make Obama sell out Democratic principles. A lose lose for us IMHO.

Maybe they will over reach again. I sure hope so.

[tammywammy]

15. So now we all know - O' Donnell = Obamabot

He's in the WH pocket!!!

:rofl:

I notice how quiet this thread is....

[kentuck]

16. We shall see...

If so, I don't think it was planned.

[closeupready]

17. Nonsense.

Unrecced.

[lame54]

18. That's a lot of work to get to the status quo

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SidDithers]

20. K&R...nt

Sid

[Pale Blue Dot]

22. Headline: Democrats Win Debt Ceiling Battle - Raise Taxes and Cut Social Security

That is the headline of the future.

[rusty fender]

23. Yet, his opposition to the public option didn't make the Repubs

come out in favor of the public option. However, if this debt-ceiling negotiation results in O'Donnell's hypothesis, I will be the first to praise Obama.:woohoo:

[DainBramaged]

25. (sigh) and will this help me pay my bills?

:shrug:

[Erose999]

26. I'll be sure to tell my dad how awesome of a negotiator Obama is while he's eating catfood. Hell, at

the rate Obama's going I might be eating catfood right along beside him.

[Cheap_Trick]

29. Then hurry up and use that rope to hang these fucking GOP assholes. nt

[woo me with science]

33. Standing up and publicly validating Right Wing lies

about how the poor must sacrifice to "strengthen" the economy is not brilliant or courageous, even if O'Donnell thinks it is part of some brilliant brazillion-level chess strategy.

It feeds the poisonous memes that are destroying this country, and it is morally and ethically wrong.

The President should not lie about what will be good for this economy and the American people. He should be a truth teller and a leader for what is right.

[muriel_volestrangler]

35. Messgae seems to be "if everything goes right, Obama looks more reasonable than Republicans". Yay.

That's not that much of a victory, if it comes with spending cuts. Looking more reasonable, to centrist and independent voters, than most Republicans is pretty damn easy, really.

What if Boehner constructs a bill with the spending cuts that came up in negotiation with Biden, the closing of the corporate jet loophole, and an increase in the ceiling enough to get through to early 2013? I think he'd be able to sell that to many Republicans; I think he'd sell it to Blue Dog Democrats too. If that passes the House with just a few days to go, would the Senate turn it down? Would Obama dare to? I think not, and Boehner would have at least $1.7 trillion in spending cuts, with just a symbolic loophole closed in return (that Republican voters would be only too happy to accept - while they may dream of getting rich, few will see themselves as spoilt enough to demand cheap corporate jets; it'll piss off a few donors, but they'll keep their jets - they'll just get the companies to pay more tax).

I think Boehner still has many ways to come out ahead of Obama.

[bvar22]

36. I watched the whole presentation with deep fascination.

O"Donnell made his case that Obama was a masterful tactician, Step by Step,
but I can reduce it to just one step:
Obama beat the Republicans by adopting their positions,
leaving them no place to go.
(If you watch, you will see after all the bullshit that this is essentially what O"Donnell says)



I guess that is All Good if all you want is a political WIN,
but it is very, VERY BAD for America's Working Class & Poor.




Who will STAND and FIGHT for THIS American Majority?
You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their excuses.

[EFerrari]

37. Alan Grayson says current members tell him that they believe Obama is willing

to cut Social Security and Medicare. He said (on Hartmann) if he's snookered the Republicans, he's also snookered the Democrats. And that members are saying, where does that leave the Party? If it isn't willing to stand for SS and Medicare, what does it stand for?