What publius said . . .

publius: A Foolish Surrender

To add a more substantive note to my last post, the retreat on the school language is extremely irritating (and a bit depressing). The reason is that it signals weakness and defensiveness.

Look, I understand completely the need for legislative horsetrading and deal-cutting. We have a failed political institution (the Senate) that makes these deals necessary. And while I support the public option, I don't think Obama is a traitor or anything for not demanding its inclusion. My goal on all these big proposed bills (coverage reform; cap and trade) is to set up the broad institutional structures that will grow in time. That's what matters most -- and that's precisely how the New Deal legislation worked.

So that's all fine.

What really annoys me though is caving on these symbolic matters. I mean, it's outrageous that end of life counseling is even remotely controversial. The whole point is to help people (particularly those of modest incomes) plan and be informed for the inevitable, and to give them more freedom about those decisions. And neither should it be remotely controversial for the President of the United States to speak with school children. Everyone knows what "helping" the President means, and so the outrage is either extreme cynicism or willed ideological ignorance.

But here's the thing -- when you surrender to such obviously absurd outrages, you hurt yourself in the long run. You not only validate those complaints, you come off looking weak and defensive -- as if you did something wrong. The conservative outrages on both issues should be counter-attacked, not retreated from. I mean, if liberals had done this to Bush, the narrative would be "has the angry Left gone too far?"

Honestly, the caving on the school speech is one of the most depressing things Obama has done. It's not that the act itself matters. It's that it signals that they think they're incapable of winning fights against whatever today's absurd outrage happens to be. It shows me that they don't have much fight in them.

Hopefully I'm wrong.

publius: Bold Leadership

Jake Tapper, "WH, Dept. of Education Revise Language":

In an acknowledgment that the Department of Education provided lesson plans written somewhat inartfully, surrounding the President Obama’s speech to students next Tuesday, the White House today announced that it had rewritten one of the sections in question.

NYT, "Obama Aides Aim to Simplify and Scale Back Health Bills":

To avoid some of the most heated criticism voiced in recent weeks, White House officials said they would have no objection if Congress scrapped proposals to have Medicare pay for counseling on end-of-life care.

AP, "Obama Apologizes for Not Saying 'Bless You'; Asks Forgiveness":

John Boehner sneezed today, and President Obama did not say "Bless You." Republicans immediately denounced the poor manners. Fearing a public backlash, the White House was forced to offer a belated apology.

Reuters, "White House on Defensive After Forgetting Chuck Grassley's Ketchup":

The White House scrambled today to contain the damage after forgetting to ask for ketchup for Senator Grassley's "Whopper with Cheese" meal. Grassley had demanded that Obama order him a Whopper with cheese, extra onions, mayo on top bun only -- and specifically said, "Don't forget the ketchup for my fries."

Obama, however, forgot the ketchup. He has since apologized, and promised to drop the public option in return for his unthoughtfulness. If Rush Limbaugh remains upset, the White House may be forced to end the estate tax.