I was kind of out of the loop yesterday. In the morning, I took a dog to the vet, and then in the afternoon I had another cavity filled. Then I had to entertain the boy while his mother was on interminable conference calls. So, I was aware that Bernie Sanders was making a very long speech on the Senate floor in opposition to the tax deal, and I became aware that Bill Clinton had retaken the roll of president for the White House press corp in support of the tax deal. What they actually had to say? I still don’t know.

I see that progressive groups like PCCC and DFA are aggressively raising money off this controversy. DFA actually boasted of causing a measly 12,000 phone calls to be made. I’d be embarrassed to ask for money based on that record. Do you mean 12,000 calls in a single congressional district?

Meanwhile, Obama’s decision to make a deal on the tax cuts has begun to cost him dearly with his base.

Overall, just 42 percent of registered voters approve of how he’s doing his job, while 50 percent disapprove.

Obama’s standing among Democrats dropped from a month ago, with his approval rating falling to 74 percent from 83 percent, and his disapproval rating almost doubling, from 11 percent to 21 percent.

Among liberals, his approval rating dropped from 78 percent to 69 percent and his disapproval rating jumped from 14 percent to 22 percent.

It’s fair to say that we didn’t work so hard to get Obama elected so that he could preserve Bush’s tax cuts for his whole first term. But, then, we used to have a decent employment situation in this country. We used to have control of the House of Representatives. We used to have a Senate that would show at least some deference to the White House on the management of foreign policy and the economy, and not obstruct and vilify everything.

I don’t even much care what happens with the tax deal. I would like to see the START treaty ratified, the DADT policy repealed, and new stimulus for the economy. And I’d like see millionaires and billionaires pay to balance the budget. They had a free ride for the last thirty years and caused this problem. Let them clean it up right now. Don’t cut anyone’s Social Security. If we hadn’t subsidized the rich’s lifestyle with low taxes, we’d have no shortfall in the money promised to Social Security. Politicians spent our Social Security money rather than tax rich people. How about we get paid back now?