Building Bipartisan Coalitions is Just Really Hard " Werk"

[Samantha]

Sometimes when one listens to a political commentary, he or she will hear a few key words that puts the brain on rewind. Tonight, Fineman was discussing the potential for George W. Bush* to recover from his new lows in the polls. Fineman gave Bush* poor odds for recovery. His implication was that Bush* will be but a lame duck the rest of his term. Quack, quack .. how suitable this sounds in the same sentence with George W. Bush.

Fineman made an excellent point. Perhaps if he, Bush*, had made a point of building bipartisan coalitions during his Presidency (sic), he could now reach out to members of both parties to help restore his credibility. It was that phrase "building bipartisan coalitions" that pushed the rewind button in my brain, taking me back to the time immediately following the Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Gore.

"Bush* is extremely experienced at building bipartisan coalitions," we often heard. "This is one of his strengths, and one of the reasons he was so successful as Governor of the State of Texas." As if this repeated assurance would soothe the political souls of those disenfranchised by the Supreme Court decision, all 51 million of us, we heard it time and time again, from a myriad of people.

Seeking a link to buttress this thread, I did a quick Google and below is the first link I reviewed. I found it both ironic and deeply saddening --

A few quotes:

"We've got to work together whether we like to or not. I mean, bipartisanship is not going to be political theory; it's going to be a political necessity."

"But the public generally is tired of confrontation and they're ready for reconciliation, for people to work together. And I suspect that the president-elect will, as he reaches out, will find Democrats, and Republicans, the moderates in that group, prepared to rally around and work with him."

More quotes assuring us of Bush*s willingness to form bipartisan coalitions can be found here:

transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0012/13/lkl.01.html

Read it and weep. I know I did.

Our only consolation for having been in that place is that the depths of despair there inspired the birth of this place.