Bring it on

Emanuel was quoted saying, “In the coming weeks, you’ll see the president speak to the country about these competing different philosophies. That is, do you have only the energy executives in the room, or do you have energy executives, environmentalists and other people from the venture capital community to come to a consensus on energy policy? Do you think that BP is the aggrieved party here? Do you think that Wall Street should be left alone and not have any reforms? Elections are about choices. Those are what is fundamental. There is a difference in our philosophies.”

In Bush parlance, Emanuel’s comment was his own unique version of “Bring it on.” This fight is now less about the American people, and more about beating the snot out of Republicans. What Churchillian courage on display there.

There are two overarching conclusions to draw from his actions this weekend. First, the White House is clearly looking toward November and nothing else. This tedious notion of actually having to govern is distracting. Obama’s staff would much rather play the populist card by engaging in some good old-fashioned class warfare, dusting off the playbook on how to label opponents as Rockefeller Republicans.

You can bet everything it does from here through the fall will be politically charged, with very little concern regarding outcomes. Good legislation will be mere byproducts. The most important thing is to label Republicans as out of touch.

Second, none of this matters. The die is already cast for Obama, particularly when it comes to the Gulf spill. He owns that disaster. And very little will shift the public blame away from his administration.

So while Sunday was a telling sign of the bravado of this White House, and a signal that it’s spoiling for a fight, there’s also desperation beginning to seep through. Desperation leads to carelessness. Right now, Emanuel’s team can’t afford any more missteps.

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