I have a theory about this clip from Harry Reid describing Barack Obama’s speech on Wednesday to the joint session of Congress. Obama must have given two speeches, one publicly, and then a later one in private after all 535 members snuck back into the chamber. The one we saw featured a President who got angry, called his opposition liars, and said he wouldn’t listen to anyone who didn’t want to overhaul the health-care system along the principles he’s already espoused. Harry Reid must be referring to a different speech when he recounts the one that lauded Republican ideas on ObamaCare and offered an “olich branch” to his opposition (via Greg Hengler):

Allow me to point out the “olich branch” moments:

But what we have also seen in these last months is the same partisan spectacle that only hardens the disdain many Americans have toward their own government. Instead of honest debate, we have seen scare tactics. Some have dug into unyielding ideological camps that offer no hope of compromise. Too many have used this as an opportunity to score short-term political points, even if it robs the country of our opportunity to solve a long-term challenge. …

There are also those who claim that our reform effort will insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false – the reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. …

Everyone in this room knows what will happen if we do nothing. Our deficit will grow. More families will go bankrupt. More businesses will close. More Americans will lose their coverage when they are sick and need it most. And more will die as a result. We know these things to be true.

So it has to be another speech, in another reality, to which Reid refers in this clip. It’s the reality in which putting tort reform in the hands of a former executive director for the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association sounds like compromise. It’s the alternate reality in which “olich branches” come with instructions on where to stick them.