I like your shrewd take on all this, and, I think there are times when one must be so shrewd to win the day.
But, I am so sad when I see an issue such as this, which should appeal STRONGLY to the instincts of an educated citizen,
which the FFs would have held forth on so vigorously,
being reduced to just another of the hundreds of Itchy-and-Scratchy, Tom-and-Jerry, cartoon fights we have with the Rats in front of the C-SPAN cameras.
To me, this is government by Professional Wrestling -- mock rages, shaking, posturing, pretending, phony good guys and phony bad guys, all designed to appeal to the most dull-witted, or the most corrupt, or both.
With the final deal being settled, out of the public eye, by dirty old men in the Senate cloakroom or the Oval Office.
It's not my idea of what American Government should be.
It's not what so many soldiers, sailors, and militiamen died for to establish as a government, and what so many millions died for to preserve.
It's cheesy and Third-Worldish, definitely un-American.
I can't argue with you there and won't. Just remember who forced this issue and why. Sometimes you have to wrestle with pigs, and when you do, your going to get a little muddy, even if all you do is walk past the pen - but it's better crawling in with them. All things considered I believe he handled it correctly, because the whole thing was a sucker play from the beginning. And the histrionics hitting this post must be very gratifying to any WWF Dem lurkers reading it.