McCain's New Role: Obstructionist-- And, Of Course, The Scary Benjamin Button Cameo

I solemnly swear I did not Photoshop McCain into this photo from Benjamin Button

I couldn't imagine that there was a film that could beat Slumdog Millionaire for Best Picture this year. But yesterday I went to see The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button which stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. It should give Slumdog a real run for its money. But the reason I mention it today is because McCain's cameo role in the film (as the young Benjamin) reminded me about John Amato's great post at Crooks and Liars today on how President Post-Partisan's conservative friends are already stabbing him in the back. He's got a great clip up of McCain on Fox telling Chris Wallace that only the failed Republican policy agenda will dig us out of the hole the failed Republican policy agenda dug us into. He's decided to lead Republicans into an orgy of obstructionism against the policies of the man who beat him in a landslide, 365-173 electoral votes.

And it isn't only McCain who has decided he'd rather see America fail than Obama succeed. Remember that dinner Obama went to with all the vile right-wing propagandists at George Will's house. He was reaching out. They were sharpening their knives.

Just one week later, Obama’s right-wing acquaintances have already shown the futility of engaging in a good-faith dialogue with them. While Obama pushes his vision for the economic recovery package — his first real battle against the conservative establishment — the dinner’s attendees are on a no-holds-barred offensive against it:
Charles Krauthammer: “Look, this is one of the worst bills in galactic history. … FDR left behind the Hoover dam and Eisenhower left behind the interstate highway system. We will leave behind, after spending $1 trillion, a dog run in East Potomac Park.” [Fox News, 1/24/09]
David Brooks: “It is an unholy marriage that manages to combine the worst of each approach — rushed short-term planning with expensive long-term fiscal impact.” [New York Times, 1/23/09]
Bill Kristol: “The stimulus has so much bad stuff in it. … They let the House Democrats get out of control in sort of writing a pork-laden bill. Politically, I think the Republicans have more room too argue for changes and ultimately vote against it.” [Fox News Sunday, 1/25/09]

One hopes, for the sake of the country, that President Obama is as fast a learner as he's always appeared to be. He needs to learn that compromising with Republicans should come after, not before, bills are written. His Stimulus package is larded up with hundreds of billions of dollars in right wing bullshit at the expense of money for real solutions for real working families being devastated by these same right-wing giveaways to their sick ideological fantasies and their corporate paymasters who led us into the mess we're now in. And it isn't only McCain who ambushed him. Today John Boehner publicly placed himself in the obstructionist camp as well. He gave away too much and got nothing in return. Now they're screeching like enraged fishwives, betting he'll cave on even more. President Obama needs to know that the Republicans are not operating from a place of good faith but that they plan to obstruct him at every opportunity. I hope they're wrong about him caving. But I doubt it.

Be sure and see the Benjamin Button movie. It's great-- despite the brief McCain cameo.