Right But Still Wrong

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Cynthia Tucker noted today that Obama tried too hard to work with Republicans. She wrote: "One of Obama’s greatest political weaknesses has been his stubborn — and unrequited — love for bipartisanship."

Tactically, she's right, of course. But isn't that a truly sad commentary on our current state of politics? Tucker's line of thinking reminds me of what Charles Sumner once said: "From the beginning of our history the country has been afflicted with compromise. It is by compromise that human rights have been abandoned." That's the kind of rigid mindset that led to the Civil War.

At the Constitutional Convention, the "Great Compromise of 1787" laid the foundation for our (largely successful) bicameral system of government today. Where would we be if the founding fathers had followed the political "wisdom" of Sumner, or even that of the estimable, well-intentioned Cynthia Tucker? As for Mr. Obama's attempts at bipartisan outreach, it just underlines again why he's the only adult in Washington.