Thinking Out Loud: The Bad Negotiator

Last night I read an article on NPR, "Liberals: Obama Doesn't Compromise. He Caves". In a common refrain that I hear from liberals and progressives,

Liberals see the president as a bad negotiator, willing to sell the farm for nothing.

For example, nine months ago he angered environmentalists with a surprise announcement that offshore oil and gas exploration would be expanded.

He seemed to be giving Republicans a bargaining chip without getting anything in return. Indeed, the energy bill that Obama wanted died in the Senate for lack of Republican support.

In the health care debate, the White House abandoned a public option without winning any Republican votes for the concession.

And earlier this week, Obama once again gave Republicans something they wanted, against the wishes of many liberal groups, when he proposed a two-year pay freeze for civilian federal workers...

As many people know, Obama has already signaled that he may be prepared to give in on another Republican demand: continued tax cuts for the egregiously rich. On issue after issue, we witness the same pattern. He talks tough at the outset, then slides backwards the closer it gets to when the legislation needs passage. It is becoming a common opinion that the man lacks any semblance of a backbone.

Of course, there is another way to view this sickening pattern. It's all a ruse. What he says at the outset is not what he really supports; he's merely trying to score points with many of his supporters. Once he has them firmly in his back pocket, then he gets down to the REAL business -- giving away the farm.

If our president was a Republican, he would have to be very careful with this strategy because, if he angered his populist base too much, they might make him pay big time. Fortunately, for him, he's a Democrat and so he really doesn't fear any kind of backlash at all. Liberals will wring their hands and threaten not to back him in 2012, but, when push comes to shove, they will all fall in line like the sheeple they are. No matter how badly he has abused them, he knows they won't dare leave the fold.

In a manner of speaking, Obama's "sins" aren't his fault. No, the fault lies with all the people who are guilty of the very thing they accuse him of!! It turns out that Democratic voters are very poor negotiators too. They talk tough in the beginning, but they allow Democratic politicians to back down WITHOUT exacting ANY concessions.