Pelosi Rocks, Reid Rolls (Over)

This piece in TruthDig ought to make my parents hopping mad. Columnist and frequent Olbermann guest Gene Robinson notes that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi can get shit done the way no one else can. He gives props to the GOP leadership as well for presenting such a monolithic front against anything and everything Democratic, although he wonders if they're not doing more harm to themselves than good. Also worthy of some praise are the fence-sitting blue dogs and independents, who held the health-care bill hostage till they got what they wanted. Most of them are probably safe come the next election. Lieberman, though? Shark bait. Toss him overboard.

That said, who does Robinsons say can't get it done? Harry Reid:

Granted, he’s in a nearly impossible position, needing a three-fifths majority to get anything done, but he has made a bad situation worse. He announced that the Senate bill would include a public option, but didn’t have the votes. He got everyone excited about the Medicare buy-in idea for a few days, until it got shot down. And his remarks comparing the health care debate to the epic battle over slavery were a grotesque embarrassment.

But his choicest bit of wisdom is reserved for our President:

The White House hasn’t managed to drive a deep enough wedge between, on the one hand, the Senate Republicans, who aren’t going to vote for reform under any circumstances, and, on the other hand, the Democratic caucus. The waverers and the opportunists have been allowed to take control.

Robinson seems to be saying here that Obama needs to stop trying to be so post-partisan and push legislators to one side or the other. Putting through legislation that a Blue Dog could not oppose is one way for Obama to sow just a bit more discord in that chamber such that his agenda gets stronger support.

One thing that could do, however, is push the Ben Nelsons, Mary Landrieus, and Byron Dorgans of the Senate right into the arms of a salivating GOP. Switching parties at this point wouldn't hurt Nelson in Nebraska, one of the reddest states in the country, and Louisiana and North Dakota would probably blink minimally. Losing even one of those three to the Republicans changes the balance of power immensely. This is why the White House is eager to push Reid to make deals with the Blue Dogs. You legislate with the Congress you have, not the one you wish you had.

Rumsfeld sure did have it right, didn't he?