Thoughts on Obama's Open Mic

Constantly praising Republicans have resulted in stalled legislation, midterm election losses and poll numbers in the forties for President Barack Obama. Obama's open mic moment was great politics. (I wonder if the White House knowingly made a fake mistake.) Speaker John Boehner and Rep. Paul Ryan have issued every kind of attack imaginable at Obama. The one time they are attacked they start crying. It makes Boehner and Ryan look weak.

The Republican caucuses aren't going to work with Obama. The President has to run for re-election. The only way for Obama to pass legislation is to make the case why his policies are better than the Republicans.

Politically, progressives will love Obama factually pointing out the failures of Republican policies. Obama is correct. Ryan can not call himself a deficit hawk after voting for excessive spending bills during the Bush years. Ryan voted for the Medicaid bill that went over the original budget projections by $100 billion. Ryan now is painting himself as a reformer of Medicaid.

The open mic is a win/win for Obama. Obama is not losing anything from Republicans since they aren't bringing anything to the bargaining table.