Obama is doing EXCACTLY what he did in the primary, losing a skirmish and winning the war

[Peacetrain]

Obama, over and over again, would give his opponents a piece of the pie so that three fourths of it would make to the general public.

There are things in the stimulus bill, that belong in other bills, and are easily things that the republicans can have so they can take something back home with them as a "little" win.

This has always been Obama operation of choice. He has never had to have it 100% his way or no way. And in order to get the most important parts out of a bill, and idea, a movement, he will always give the other side something for face saving.

Obama does not need to rip the entrails out of his opponents' belly in order to feel he has won or gotten the best deal possible.

He is a political genius. Capable of stepping outside his own zone of comfort and dragging the other side closer to the middle.

:hi:

edit: grammar correction

[Puzzler]

1. I completely agree.

.

[Peacetrain]

2. I am just more impressed with his skill every day...

[rucky]

3. Where can we find the latest draft of the plan?

[Peacetrain]

4. www.recovery.com

That is where it will be going up

[TTUBatfan2008]

5. You mean Recovery.gov

[Peacetrain]

6. probably.. I get my .nets, govs, coms bass ackwards all the time

:)

[RoyGBiv]

7. I agree, however ...

Tax cuts are a bad piece of pie to be giving out. They could actually render ineffective any other part of the bill being considered.

I have an inkling he's working a somewhat different angle, which can be summarized as giving the Republican leadership enough rope with which to hang itself. But it's a dangerous game that's being played. There is very little room for error here.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

8. The whole contraceptives thing had "bait" written all over it.

Some expendable clause with a big bullseye for republicans on it.

[Peacetrain]

9. That is how I see it too...

That one was so out of place in the stimulus bill..

[JerseygirlCT]

10. I don't even attempt to out-think his strategic thinking...

the campaign defnitely taught me that he and his are usually a few steps ahead.

[Peacetrain]

12. me either..? even though the house did not vote the stimulus plan

they look really bad, especially with Obama giving them time, listening to them and a some of their points.. they look like Rush read them the riot act also, and like GIngery are going to like his boots and not work with Obama..

It all ends up working our favor... sheer genius

[uponit7771]

11. Yeapers, ask for a mile to get the inch

[cilla4progress]

13. Exactly!

I see it exactly as you do! I think he is a supreme tactician. It seems so obvious to some of us - I wonder if the Republicans (Boehner) see it, or are they really so dumb they are falling into his trap?

[Maven]

14. He didn't drag anyone closer to the middle.

What he may have done is make it politically feasible to treat the Repukes as irrelevant.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

15. The public perception that it's a standard omnibus spend-a-thon is immensely damaging

Far more damaging than whatever the upside is to letting the pugs have some concessions.

(And since this is a matter of public perception it doesn't matter what the bill *really* is at all. Concessions given look like the pugs are doing their job of keeping the crazy Dems in check which is far from the ideal pubic perception of the matter.)

Sometimes an error is just an error, not the most ingenious plan ever hatched.

All presidents make mistakes, no matter how clever. It comes with the job.

Maybe it's na error, maybe not. But there's no heresy in suggesting a president might be wrong about something.

He's doing an excellent job on the international front so far. I find the entire stimulus story deeply disappointing, however.

[Peacetrain]

16. I think he is threading the needle, and doing a good job of it

[Jennicut]

17. Um, public perception is not that at all. Most people are for the Stimulus Plan.

New Diageo/Hotline survey suggests this:

"The survey also suggests that a solid majority of those questioned, 65 percent, are confident that the proposed $825 billion stimulus package will be effective in turning around the economy. But when broken down by party, only a minority of Republicans are confident. It's the same when it comes to whether the stimulus package will be spent and managed wisely, with 57 percent overall responding yes, but only a minority of Republicans agreeing."http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/27/obama-scores-well-in-second-post-inauguration-poll/

Only Bush-Rethugs think the stimulus is all about spending.

[Peacetrain]

18. Thanks for the link... that is what I call a positive impact