The last time around, the president negotiated with John Boehner, too. And John Boehner couldn’t sell their solution to his own caucus. So, why would we go through that again.
At House Speaker John A. Boehner’s request, Senate leaders and Representative Nancy Pelosi have been excluded from talks to avert a fiscal crisis, leaving it to Mr. Boehner and President Obama alone to find a deal, Congressional aides say.
All sides, even the parties excluded, say clearing the negotiating room improves the chance of success.
It’s not that I doubt that it is easier for Obama and Boehner to agree to something if there are no other opinions vying for influence. For example, imagine that were trying to pick something to watch on pay-per-view.
The problem is that just because Obama and Boehner agree to watch Kung Fu Panda doesn’t mean that anyone will vote for that once they find out what has been decided.
It just makes Boehner look weak, and he can’t spread the blame around.
