Pulling my back out while they pull me back in

"Just when I thought that I was out they pull me back in..."

I pulled my back out the other day, and since my chiropractor is away till Wednesday, I've had to favor it with lots of bed rest -- meaning I've spent my time reading books, watching movies, and far too often clicking around the "news" circuit from CNN to C-SPAN to MSNBC.

I guess "politics" is my Michael Corleone thing. I'd really promised myself that for a while I'd cease to pay attention, to take a psychic rest from the Great Debates of the last couple of years. I figured that from January 20 forward the country's fate was in safe hands and didn't need my attention quite so much. But, inevitably, events in the last couple of weeks have proven that my faith was sadly misplaced. The Republican goon squad is still operating with the same outrageous arrogance and ignorance as ever it did, notwithstanding the repudiation of the rightwing by the national electorate. And the Democrats have been hard-pressed to know how to deal. (Thank heavens that the worthies at Hullabaloo are keeping an eye on things, and as usual have found the sweet spots for their anger and mine.)

I never believed that "post-partisanship" was anything but a pipe dream. There was never going to be anything but a clenched Republican fist meeting the Democrats' open hand. I hope that President Obama's vaunted pragmatism will let him admit to this, and to change tactics. I hope, too, that when he goes prime time tonight, he'll light into his opponents. Damn the torpedoes and all that. 

[The Rethugs are even wagging their finger at a prime time press conference, bitching that his "usurpation" of network bandwidth strikes a financial blow at the telecomm companies. Oh you naughty boy.]

It's time to take 'em on, Barack!