OK, OK -- Uncle

Dammit. I hate breaking a promise. I honestly had no intention of weighing in on Speechgate, this ridiculous Obama-Boehner spat. America cares not a whit about it. It is strictly a media tempest in a teapot, and will be forgotten in a news cycle or two. But given the sheer tonnage of bullshit being thrown about by (presumably bored) pundits today, you'd think it was the Second Battle of Bull Run.

A sampling:

Chauncey DeVega: "Boehner just pulled a 'boy you best get off the sidewalk and let a white man pass moment' in his demand that the President reschedule his jobs speech scheduled for next week before Congress." MSNBC's Richard Wolffe: "This obstructionism on all things is the dominant political strategy by the GOP in the Age of Obama, and it is fueled by a deep hostility to Obama's legitimacy as President." Cenk Uygur (the guy MSNBC replaced with Al Sharpton): "Another embarrassing fail betrays a White House in a bubble. It's the audacity of weakness." Roger Simon: "The W.H. is furious over the speech delay."

Oh please. Long story short: This was an unforced error by the White House. Here's the straight dope. Team Obama, being too clever by half, decided to play politics. The W.H. knew damn well that a presidential speech before Congress on Wednesday would step on the GOP candidates debate long-scheduled for the same evening. Sure enough, the ploy backfired. How could it not in DC's poisonous political climate? Speaker Boehner said "no" to what would normally be a pro forma request. Sure, it was petty of him. But he did it under pressure (see Rush Limbaugh et al). How about Thursday, Mr. President? Obama, smart enough to cut his losses, replied, "Okay, fine." That should have ended the soap opera episode. Instead, the press unsheathed their sabers and charged wildly into the Second Manassas. Hence the nutty wailing about "the audacity of weakness" and other such nonsense. I knew we'd be plunging down the rabbit hole when even the august BBC reported the kerfuffle late last night. Chalk up it up to the Epoch of Madness. There is no escaping a media hell-bent on force-marching us through yet another manufactured Bataan.