Anybody who has ever driven on the streets of sunny South Florida will understand this metaphor completely.
When driving in Miami, one assumes that no one will let you in. That is, no cars will allow you to merge in their lane. Presuming that they are on their way to that unsatisfying job that they need, in order to pay for that ballooning mortgage payment, for that house that isn’t probably worth what they paid for. I digress -people down there will not allow you in, no matter what. This is the reason NO ONE in Miami uses turn signals.
What the President did was use his turn signal. He signaled that it was time to put bipartisanship aside for the sake of the country. He thought that after wiping his ass with the GOP that they would in turn realize that maybe the last 8 years didn’t go so well and maybe they should get in line for the sake of the country.
Of course the President didn’t realize he’s dealing with politicians. The GOP has proven, if anything, that they are master politicians. Of course they’re not getting in line with something that will benefit the country. It would ruin their chances in 2010 and 2012. After all, that’s right around the time we could expect the recovery to begin. So they would rather see the collapse of the economy, blame the current administration (this is what they do well) and position themselves to recapture the majority in both houses and possibly the presidency in 2012. Its more of the same live by the ideological sword and die by it.
So how do you effectively merge in Miami? After assuming that no one will let you in, you assume that they know your coming and will be forced to let you in. You find a gap, turn on your signal at the last second and jam yourself in. Most people don’t even bother with the turn signal bit, but a little notice is better than none, right?
Mr. President, you’ve put on your turn signal. Don’t wait for someone to let you in.