The Patriot Post® · Antagonism, Combat & Fruitless Friction

Peggy Noonan: “It is confounding – not surprising but stunning, unhelpful and ill-judged – that the president is … going for antagonism, combat and fruitless friction. This is not just poor strategy, it seems to me to be mildly delusional. Chris Matthews erupted on MSNBC: ‘There’s something in this guy that just plays to his constituency and acts like there’s no other world out there!’ That’s true. And deeply strange in a politician. It’s as if he doesn’t think he has to work with others, he only has to be right. I think Mr. Obama sees himself as a centrist because he often resists the pressures of the leftward-most edge of his base. Therefore in his imagination he is in the middle, the center. If he is in the middle of a great centrist nation, how can they turn on him? The answer: They are confused. This is their flaw, not his. He’s not going to let their logical flaws change his game. … The president here is doing what he has been doing for a while, helping Republicans look good. That is an amazing strategy for a Democratic president to adopt.”