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."