Barack Obama has been praised as a smart politician whose long view pragmatism and patience belie shrewd instincts. President Obama is certainly efficient. He's managed to do in less than a year what it took George W. Bush six or so years to do -- completely alienate a significant chunk of his own political.
All hell has broken lose in a couple of days. The White House is attacking Howard Dean. House progressives are attacking the White House. Bernire Sander is mad that the GOP Is going to read his Single Payer bill. A political mess of Biblical proportions. Human sacrifice, dog and cats living together.
Which is why President Obama needs to give Rahm Enamuel a swift kick out of the White House, pronto.
What in the name of god did Rahm think would happen when he gave the marching order to Harry Reid to give Lieberman whatever he wanted? Rahm has made it his personal crusade to piss off the progressives for months now. He's made it abundantly clear doesn't care what the people who voted for Obama think. We're a distraction. An irritant.
Now with new poll numbers showing that support for the health care bill is down, the practical consequences of dropping the Public Option are starting to become clear. The erosion is underway and it's not going to stop because The Bill is only going to get worse and the base is getting the message more and more every day.
Rahm Emanuel's pragmatism didn't work because it didn't stand for anything but power. His desperate attempts to rewrite history by doing what the Clinton White House couldn't do seem destined to crash and burn. And time and time again, Rahm's calculated capitulation and attacks on progressives have cost the White House the good will of its biggest natural allies.
Ultimately, Obama is to blame for this. He gave Rahm power and he gave insurance and pharma industry hacks like Baucus and Lieberman power, too. But the big guy doesn't get fired except on Election Day.
Maybe Obama can make a fresh start with liberals the way he'd tried to do with the rest of the world. But there must be a sacrifice. It's time for Rahm to pack up his kit bag and head down the road muttering obscenities to himself.
Don't let the motherf$*(#ing door hit you on the #!@ on the way out, buddy.