He does this all the time, suggests that there is no reasonable option other than what he proposes. It illustrates the extreme, nearly hysterical way he perceives all opposition: Everyone else is obsessed with this thing called “politics.” He is the only one who is even trying to do what’s right for the country.

His immigration policy, he noted last fall, was the following: “To those members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer: Pass a bill.” Do it my way, or I’ll simply impose my will, unilaterally and using tactics I previously conceded would be illegal.

In speeches, Obama often charges that others believe there are only two extreme choices and he represents the sensible middle. But he himself reached the apotheosis of this kind of thinking in his second inaugural address when he actually said that since no one person can do everything that needs to be done, the government has to step in. (“No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future,” he said in that speech, as if anyone is arguing that, “or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together” — his euphemism for more government.)