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James Taranto makes an interesting suggestion:  In the coming months, Obama is going to try to make Republicans look good so that, in November, one-party rule ends and he can tack to the center, more or less guaranteeing himself a second term.

What do you think?  Does Taranto make a good case for this strategy or is Taranto reading to much into a sop Obama is throwing to Republicans to justify further intransigence on his part?

UPDATE:  Power Line has a different and, I think, better approach to the whole thing, beginning with an accurate understanding of what Obama means by the word “compromise”:

At yesterday’s press conference, Obama explained what he means by “compromise” legislation: he will insist on adherence to his goals regarding health care reform, but will entertain Republican suggestions on how to accomplish them. The president will not “start from scratch,” as Republican leaders have asked him to do.

[snip]

I doubt, however, that Obama’s proposed meeting is really about finding a compromise. Instead, I think it’s an attempt by the president to shift some of the focus away from the Democrats’ behavior and onto that of the Republicans. The health care debate has been a significant loser for Dems, not just on the merits but also in terms of process. By publicizing, holding, and televising a meeting, Obama hopes not that he will appear more reasonable in terms of process, but also that Republicans will cast themselves in a bad light. This would occur, Obama probably hopes, if Republicans refuse to attend or if they attend and either (a) behave badly or (b) are out-argued.

This isn’t a bad strategy on Obama’s part, but it’s unlikely to be much of a winner, ether. Given the unpopularity of the Democrats’ substantive approach to health reform, the Republicans can avoid the meeting without much political cost by forcing Obama to say, as he did yesterday, that he is unwilling to start over. Alternatively, they can attend, behave decorously (as they did when they met with Obama in Baltimore), and hold their own or better in the discussion of the merits.

Incidentally, to understand why “adopt my strategy, but with your tactics” is not a feasible approach for any honest Republican dealing with Obama, you have to understand that conservatives and Progressives are pulling in two irreconcilable directions.  Conservatives want less government involvement in health care, to free the power of the market place; while Progressives want complete government control over health care, destroying the marketplace.  The only middle position is the mess we have now and, while ideologues on the Left and the Right don’t like it very much, the public has made it clear that they’re willing to deal a bit longer with the Devil they know, than to have D.C. introduce a Devil, possibly socialist, that they don’t know.

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