There's an analogy I've made about Obama's method of negotiation here and elsewhere comparing it to a person buying a car. In my analogy I describe somebody going into a car dealership and yelling at the top of their lungs, "I AM NOT LEAVING HERE WITHOUT A CAR!" The sales people salivate and get right down to "negotiating". In the end the guy walks out with a car, sure, but he's ended up paying a hell of a lot more for it than he should have.
The reason why Obama never seems to get the change we want is because he has never made walking away an option. Republicans know full well when they negotiate with him that they need not give up a thing. They can sit there while Obama hands them everything they've ever wanted because they know he won't walk away from the table.
This is what drives me nuts, but it's also what drives me nuts about us.
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