Thus, bipartisanship is of little political use to him now. As a rallying cry against the Bush administration, which pulled the policy needle to the right, it was extremely helpful. However, not any more. When the “old categories” suddenly give you an opening, why “transcend” them? Why court the other side, which will only slow you down and moderate your programs? Instead, the politically savvy move is to do exactly what Obama has done: stuff bipartisanship, see how much you can squeeze out of Congress before the next “correction,” and get your name into the history books.

I expect politicians of both parties to do this. Their commitment to bipartisanship is typically situational: they praise it when they’re in the minority, then forget it when they’re in the majority. Of course, Obama promised to be above politics as usual. That’s why he pursued his party’s nomination against Hillary Clinton, whose experience was greater but who had the “taint” of politics on her. Obama didn’t have the taint, and assured us he never would.

So much for that.