While all the liberals are bemoaning their purportedly weak president, the right isn't at all happy either. Only about half of the Tea Party caucus voted against the final deal, making them (what else) sell-outs to commies:
Rep. Allen West, seen by many as a tea party favorite, was among those who voted in favor of the compromise bill – and now he’s being targeted by tea party groups who see him as a sell-out. “One minute they’re saying I’m their Tea Party hero, and three, four days later I’m a Tea Party defector; that kind of schizophrenia I’m not going to get involved in it,” West said in consternation on Laura Ingraham’s talk radio show.
Primary challenges are already on the table, and every GOP candidate, save Huntsman, has opposed the deal. Meanwhile, we're actually going to be forced to have a debate over whether to raise taxes or slash defense or slash entitlements. Since the GOP refuses to raise taxes and is terrified of cutting Medicare, they're also set for a real dust-up over national security. Another reader notes:
The deal that was reached over the weekend seems to be Obama giving the GOP the immediate field but redeploying to higher ground. The dynamics of the super-committee certainly favor the Democrats, and it could really damage the conservatives over the next year and a half. Who would have thought that raising the debt ceiling twice would be more politically dangerous for the GOP than Obama? Each time it gets raised, the most radical of the Tea Party express get more and more dissatisfied with their current batch of conservatives. This all adds up to more and more primary challenges next year, while Obama looks more and more like the sane choice to the general public.
Meep Meep.
Always best to look at Obama decisions, even the most desperate ones, from the rearview mirror.
The Dish 