Thursday, June 19, 2008

Ugly

An ugly, ugly read. Deals like this, so obviously well planned and well timed, do not fall apart -- just doesn't happen. The bill will go to the Senate, there will be a sham fight, in which Obama participates just enough to make his participation obvious without participating enough to actually kill the bill, it will pass, and then Obama will make soothing noises to the angry base of his own party and carry on with business as usual. And that, I suspect, will be the legacy of an Obama presidency: the smiling face and soothing voice of defeat and failure. He won't get anything substantial done, won't fight for anything, just sort of coast along, with a few modest "wins", like Clinton did after the defeat of healthcare reform. It would be a noticeable improvement over Bush, but then, what wouldn't?