From Taggard Goddard's political wire, I find this as the "quote of the day" (not sourced by TG).
I think that there's gonna be politics, that's what happens in Washington. They are going to play to their base for a certain period of time. But I'm pretty confident that they're going to recognize that our job is to govern and make sure that we are delivering jobs for the American people and that we are creating a competitive economy for the 21st Century. Not just for this generation but for the next one. And so my expectation, my hope is that John Boehner and Mitch McConnell will realize that there will be plenty of time to campaign for 2012 in 2012.
-- President Obama, on what he expects from Republicans as he returns from his vacation.
Another article cited by Political Wire a few articles down is discussed below the fold.
From The Atlantic profiling Mitch McConnell, TG quotes this.
"Mitch McConnell is a master manipulator and strategist -- the unheralded architect of the Republican resurgence. Now that his relentless tactics have made his party victorious, he is poised to take down the president and win the Senate majority he covets -- if he can fend off the Tea Party and keep his own caucus together."
"American politics over the next two years will be far less preoccupied with legislation and much more focused on a great clash of social visions about the efficacy and desirability of government. For the past two years, McConnell has been winning the argument that Obama and the Democrats have essentially ceded, about the value and meaning of the policies they fought so hard to pass... Someone with McConnell's distinct talents and willingness to go to extremes ought to thrive in these circumstances. The legislative imperative has been subordinated to the larger task of shaping the public's opinion of the opposition in advance of the presidential election."
"Politics as war: that's what will occupy McConnell, and all of Washington, in 2011."
Now, Barack Obama may be many things, but he cannot possibly be stupid enough to think the GOP is going to abandon their strategy of obstruction after it worked so well in the 2010 elections.
Therefore, Obama is playing the game of media framing - he is appearing conciliatory and willing to work with the Republicans in Congress, so that when the war breaks out, the public will blame the Republicans for starting the war. This is analogous to the French prior to World War I, who were so anxious to avoid giving the Germans an excuse for hostilities that they withdrew all troops from the Franco-German border and allowed the Germans to advance unimpeded for several kilometers.
To further the analogy, at some point the French had to fight - and when they did, things went badly until the Marne. French military doctrine, relying as it did on the belief in superior French elan, was not equal to the task. Obama may be relying on his superior charisma to win the day - and while he is certainly more charismatic than Mitch McConnell (as are most examples of road kill), that might not be enough to overcome the conservative bias of the MSM.
And what of the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party? Pushing the analogy a little further, the progressives become the British Expeditionary Force, whose commander (Sir John French) did not really consider the French to be true allies, and who was retreating toward the Mediterranean as quickly as decorum allowed when opportunity presented itself at the Marne.
And what happened at the Marne? For those not familiar with history, the French had garrisoned Paris with several divisions, and the German army bypassed Paris in pursuit of the main French forces. The commander of the Paris garrison realized that the German right flank was completely exposed, and in an emotional meeting convinced Sir John to commit the BEF to an assault upon the Germans in concert with the Parisian garrison.
The result of tens of thousands of fresh troops attacking unexpectedly from the flank upon the exhausted Germans, who had been advancing for weeks, produced the expected victory. The Germans stopped their advance; retreated to defensible positions, and trench warfare commenced.
So, to complete the analogy - when Obama picks his battle and fights, will the progressives join the attack upon the exposed Republican flank? Just as at the Marne, the choice of simply staying out of the fight will be available.