Of course the Republicans are trying to bust Obama’s – and the Democrats’ – balls. Politics ain’t beanbag and all that. So what? Obama could have and should have jawboned all involved to work something out. That wouldn’t have necessarily meant going Al Capone on anyone. He might have had to “offer” up something (horrors!) in exchange for cooperation. He might have pulled back on taxes or spending or the Keystone XL pipeline. He might have gone directly to the American people and gotten us to squeeze recalcitrant Republicans with our anger or sour tweets, or he might have peeled off some Republican squishes and flipped the four Democrats who voted against the Senate plan. There must have been something he could have done – we’re talking about Barack Obama, after all, Lord of the Beer Summit, after all, and not just some mere mortal!

But he didn’t do any of that, nor did he manage to get the Democratic Senate to pass a budget resolution for years before this spring. Even back in 2010, when both houses of Congress were held by his own party. But you gotta understand, back then the Dems were too busy waiting for the big National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform proposal to really focus on, you know, jumping through procedural hoops like cooking up budget proposals. And the Republicans? They’re just too crazy, or insane, or powerful, or too political or something. Because CITIZENS UNITED! KOCH BROTHERS! FOX NEWS! Otherwise, it just doesn’t make sense that Barack Obama – such a uniter that he passed Obamacare with all those Republican votes – couldn’t get the job done.