The more that the Obama Administration tries to meet the Republicans half way, the more extreme and implacable their demands become. Obama's term still has more than three and a half years to run and Democrats still have a 55-45 majority in the Senate, but the Republicans are treating him like the lamest of lame ducks. It should be clear by now -- meeting these people halfway only whets their appetite. In his remaining days in office, Obama can insist until the cows come home that he has been the president who tried to change the tone in Washington, to find areas of common ground and to show that there is more that unites Americans than divides us. But until he finds some inner toughness, the Republicans will continue to stymie his every move and he will be a feeble president at a moment when we need a resolute one.