Sometimes, I am still amazed by what passes for insight and intelligence among the nation's pundits. This morning was one of those times. I read a rather pedestrian analysis by Juan Williams with regard to the political dynamic in the Senate. It was just a rehash of the usual talking points, but with one new twist. Williams actually said that the Republicans in the Senate were trying "to run out the clock" on Obama. Let's be clear what Juan means with that statement. His claim is that the GOP in the Senate is attempting to delay all legislation until 2017 when Obama will no longer be in office. That is four years from now. FOUR YEARS! In the interim, there will need to be spending bills for four years. There will need to be approval of nominees for four years. There will need to be all sorts of votes on all sorts of measures. But Juan says they are just running out the clock.
Normally, the opposition party will actually adopt the strategy of running out the clock starting in the summer before a presidential election. For a few months, not much will get done in Washington. No party has ever adopted the strategy as a long term measure, and for good reason: it won't work and all the senators know that. One would think that a Washington observer like Juan Williams would know that too. In fact, he probably does understand it, but that still did not stop him from saying it.
Normally, the opposition party will actually adopt the strategy of running out the clock starting in the summer before a presidential election. For a few months, not much will get done in Washington. No party has ever adopted the strategy as a long term measure, and for good reason: it won't work and all the senators know that. One would think that a Washington observer like Juan Williams would know that too. In fact, he probably does understand it, but that still did not stop him from saying it.
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