Present for the event to lend it some added gravitas: Al Sharpton. Conspicuously absent: Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Boehner, all of whom were cut out of The One’s negotiations with Senate Republicans. (McConnell, as you’ll see, is right there by Obama’s side.) Waiting off-camera in the briefing room to do damage control just in case something went wrong: No, not Bill Clinton. Someone with an even higher approval rating.

Exit question via Krauthammer: What have we done? “Remember the question after Election Day: Can Obama move to the center to win back the independents who had abandoned the party in November? And if so, how long would it take? Answer: Five weeks. An indoor record, although an asterisk should denote that he had help – Republicans clearing his path and sprinkling it with rose petals.”

Update: Actually, here’s an even better quote from that Politico piece Ed blogged this morning:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — who recently claimed his goal was to deny Obama a second term — reportedly reacted with disgust when he read Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer’s recent suggestion that he oppose the package because it would lower unemployment “and easily be the difference between victory and defeat in 2012.”

Said one person close to McConnell: “We’re not going to bet against the economy. If it helps Obama, so be it. We’ll do it. Who gives a s–t?”