There are some fights that the president will win simply by virtue of being the president. The most famous example in somewhat recent history was the government shutdown of 1995. On the merits, the Republicans might have thought they had a shot at winning the argument, but they didn’t realize that the American people always have more respect for the president than they do for Congress. It seems to me that the Republicans are gearing up to repeat that mistake with their opposition to the Wall Street reforms. They think they are armed with solid Frank Luntz-created talking points, but they cannot compete with the voice of the president. If they embark on this fight, they will lose either way. If they cave, they’ll alienate a base that they’ve needlessly worked up into a froth, and if they stay united in opposition, they’ll be painted as radical protectors of the banksters, no matter how much they think their talking points will protect them.
Picking a Dumb Fight
