Well, this has been one hell of a week, with a better quality of Friday afternoon news than most.
Already the fighting within the site has begun: was it a Rope-a-Dope or was the President saved only by having stupid enemies? I have a position on that -- and I've stated it a few times recently -- but I have very little taste for promoting it right now (although I can usually be provoked.) The strongest opinion I have to express right now to my fellow Democrats is this: I don't feel much need to convince people of anything right now.
You may think that Obama had this one in hand all along and knew how it would turn out from the start, so that he could have promised anything safely. I may think that he made a series of tactical errors and risked the Republicans accepting an offer that would have seriously damaged our party. But, do you know what? Right now, this moment, it doesn't matter who's right. (That's a good thing, given the low probability of our convincing each other.)
We don't have to agree on what happened this week. We cannot, as many have pointed out, know anyway. We can just commit to working together, even with those with whom we fight on this site. Suddenly, we're all pretty much on the same side when it comes to what to do next.
There is a tendency at moments like this to exult in our position, saying like Judith Miller (but hopefully with more plausibility) that "we were proved fucking right!" I think it's true of my position; you think it's true of yours. I know I'm not going to convince you; I know you're not going to convince me.
This is not really a problem.
There is a tendency at moments like this to jostle for position, to try to set things up so that in the future one may convert others to one's cause. I ask those assembled here one favor: let's give that a little break. We don't need it right now. Our relative positions will be what they will be.
We've got hard times ahead on the debt ceiling, over the next couple of weeks, but they'll be easier times if we're pulling at the same oars. We have a narrative to promote now -- it's a compelling one and it's true. The Republicans care more about taxes than about default. They are irresponsible. They are nuts. They cannot be trusted. Can you imagine the effect on the populace, and on our opponents, of hearing such a chorus from those who generally disagree?
I want to ask people to take a break from the most vicious meta (not least, here in this diary, if you don't mind.) I'm sure that people were in a position to do even worse than what we've seen this week. I have the beginnings of draft diaries completed that would curl your hair, your nails, and your teeth. I'm sure that many of you on all sides have the same.
But we don't need to fight those fights right now. We need to fight the Republicans. We've shown that people here on all sides have spine; we don't need to prove that to one another now. What we have to do is to stare, shout, push, and keep the Republicans down. We want them to be ashamed for being how and what they are.
There are differences among Democrats here. But there are also differences between Democrats and Republicans. So let's not push each other to agree where we need not agree. Let's compete in a different domain: who can turn low-info voters into allies and turn Republicans into oily stains on the carpet of politics.
This may be a kumbaya -- but I want us to kumbaya to kick some ass.