IT'S ALL IN THE POLITICS – AT 9:24 A.M. ET:  As we've said about Obama before, third-rate president, first-rate candidate.   The man spends most of his time running for office, something he does very well.  Once he gets the office, well, what a bore. 

Obama's latest stunt was to fly to Ohio at enormous public expense to make an announcement he could have made in Washington.  Ah, but the politics of it all.  From the increasingly liberal Politico:

Three years after pledging a new era of post-partisan cooperation, President Barack Obama on Wednesday declared war with congressional Republicans by unilaterally installing his nominee to head a new consumer protection bureau.

And the White House sees only political gold in doing so.

Obama inflamed Washington Republicans by using a rarely invoked legal argument to appoint former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray — a move ensuring that an irate Congress may truly do nothing this year except extend the payroll tax cut. But Obama had abandoned hopes of a real working relationship with Republicans long before Wednesday.

So instead, he tried to reap the benefit once again of playing an outside game, aligning himself with voters against a Congress that they hold in historically low regard on an issue that crosses party lines.

It was the latest milestone in Obama’s journey from bipartisan conciliator to partisan agitator, perhaps the starkest break to date from his campaign promises to change the tone in Washington.

COMMENT:  If we can break through the laudatory, worshipful commentary for a moment:  The legal maneuver was a recess appointment.  When Congress is not in session, the president may appoint public officials who would ordinarily need confirmation by the Senate.  Those appointed, however, may only serve for a limited time.  (I believe it's about a year, but I'm not sure of the legal technicalities.) 

The problem with the president's action, though, is that the Senate is not technically out of session.  It has been kept in session precisely to block recess appointments.  So this move may face a Constitutional challenge.

As to the politics, the Politico gets it right.  The mainstream media won't harp on the details.  The president will be seen as protecting the consumer, while Republicans will be seen as blocking the protection.  Republican fumbling on the Social Security tax cut extension provided an immediate, if temporary boost in the president's poll ratings.  The unpopularity of the Republican House can drag down the GOP presidential nominee.

It's Truman's 1948 campaign strategy all over, although Obama lacks Truman's energy and spark. 

I'm afraid that, once again, the Republicans are outmaneuvered by a master politician who fights for the job, but really doesn't do it.

January 5, 2012