If you are President Obama how do you know you are winning important current negotiations?
Answer - when your opposition is experiencing dissension, chaos, and internal feuding.
I will let the facts speak for themselves.
Speaker John A. Boehner initiated today a small purge of rebellious Republicans — mostly conservatives — from prominent committees; it’s the latest instance of the Ohio Republican’s clamping down on his fractious conference.
The decisions were made by the GOP Steering Committee at a Monday meeting, which reviewed a spreadsheet listing each GOP lawmaker and how often he or she had voted with leadership, three sources said.
Reps. David Schweikert of Arizona and Walter Jones of North Carolina were booted from the Financial Services Committee. Reps. Justin Amash of Michigan and Tim Huelskamp of Kansas were removed from the Budget Committee.
According to a source, Schweikert was told that he was ousted in part because his “votes were not in lockstep with leadership.”
http://www.rollcall.com/...
Speaker Boehner is purging some of his most vocal Tea Party members. He is seeking GOP party loyalty. He is distancing the GOP from "Tea Party conservatives". The GOP is experiencing "fraction".
President Obama is negotiating from a position of strength. This is what winning looks like.
Throw a drowning opponent an anvil - as James Carville says. Let Boehner attempt to catch it first.