There is an unstated rule in negotiation. It is that on the day of reckoning you do not give the opposition a reason to walk away. The Republicans were looking for an out and Nancy Pelosi inadvertently gave them one.
Even if they were going to vote against the bailout anyway, today's outcome should be a lesson to the Democratic leadership. Aside from the destructive aftermath, the Republicans were able to make them look bad. They let the Democrats take the lead in this bailout then pulled the rug out from under them.
Why didn't the Democrats see this coming? Why weren't they skeptical of the bizarre position they found themselves in - agreeing with George W. Bush? Why did Pelosi speak at all today? Why didn't she just let the vote happen? And most of all, why did she frame the success she expected as a failing of the other party and their president and a victory for Democrats?
Whenever the Democrats approached the microphones over the last week trying to take credit for saving the U.S. from a failure created by leaders of the other party, they were placing themselves in a precarious position. The Republicans were giving them the rope to hang themselves.
The Republicans made this mess and they should fix it. That's a negotiation stance Pelosi and her well-meaning colleagues don't seem to understand. The Republicans play rough. They see you want credit, so they let you have it to your own detriment. It's an old but effective negotiation strategy -- find out what they want that will hurt them and let them have it.
At this point the Democrats should put the mess back into the hands of those who made it. Stop walking up to television microphones juggling for position and credit. Step back. In negotiations often the less said publicly the better. American voters are losing their livelihoods. They don't care if you get a cameo appearance out of it.
It's time to tell the gloating Republicans that you gave it your best shot and they rejected it. Let them come up with something better. Shrug your shoulders and throw up your hands. Stop being desperate. It only makes them uncooperative. Let them look into the abyss and imagine their own deserved downfall. That's the point at which they'll talk, because the only thing the current crop of Republican leaders understand is power. The thing they despise and effectively use to their benefit is its perceived absence.
Dr. Reardon also blogs at bardscove.