The road already traveled

The road already traveled

By Steve Benen

President Obama is set to launch a three-day bus tour across North Carolina and Virginia today, continuing to push his jobs agenda. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), making his 12 millionth appearance on a Sunday show yesterday, told CNN’s Candy Crowley that the president should spend more time in D.C.


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This is all terribly silly, but since it’s apparently not obvious to the political establishment, let’s set the record straight.

The president has pleaded with congressional Republicans, more times than the White House would like to admit, to work with him in good faith — not just on economic issues, but on anything. It’s proven to be pointless. Indeed, it’s been worse than pointless — the failed outreach has occasionally made Obama look weak; it’s infuriated his base; and Republicans have, without fail, refused to meet him anywhere close to half-way. McCain wants the president to try negotiating? Obama already has. It didn’t work because Republicans slapped away his outstretched hand and refused to even consider compromise. In several cases, Obama has even endorsed GOP ideas, only to discover that Republicans no longer support their own policies if the president agrees with them.

As a consequence, the president is now trying something different — he’s taking his message to the public and he’s trying to create conditions that would pressure Congress to be responsible for a change.

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How dare Obama go out on the trail and tell Americans that Senate Republicans won’t allow a majority vote on jobs policies they strongly support, when he should be staying in Washington and giving us cover to obstruct his jobs agenda in order to fulfill our stated top priority of destroying his presidency?