Time to Think “Small Ball”

I have generally not piled on in the latest scandals, for exactly as  Real Clear Politics, Ben Domenech writes:

“Here’s the hard thing Republicans have to do if they don’t want this crisis to go to waste: they have to ignore their id, the temptation of the sugar high of partisan point-scoring. They must willfully set aside Obama’s presence in the fray, leaving the short term personalized attacks on the table, and go after the much bigger prize. Obama isn’t running for office again. Liberalism is. Making this about him is a short term boost to the pleasure center of the conservative brain. Making this about the inherent falsehood of the progressive project will help conservatism win.”

Absolutely true. Tarnishing the halo of Barack Obama is a cheap thrill, but  is just mental masturbation. It is the Progressive brand that must be tarnished, and some have started doing just that by questioning if we really want the IRS enforcing Obamacare.

Obama is Teflon coated, and nothing — not even the famous being found in bed with a dead girl or a live boy — is going to change that. The chances of attaching any of these scandals to the Oval Office is slim, because ain’t nobody gonna’ use recordings again!

So give it up! Already the White House is accepting incompetence rather than admitting to venality, and the compliant press will likely dig no further.

Piling on scandals alone will blemish the Obama halo, and stopping Obamacare will lower his historical significance, but nothing, absolutely nothing will diminish his adoring liberal drawing power or highly paid honorariums after he retires. He is going to rule the speaking circuit for many decades, and he is not going to do something stupid like running for Mayor of Chicago or Detroit.

Obamacare is the signature accomplishment of this administration, so defeat that using the IRS scandal and that is about as good as we can expect — and that is plenty.

Swinging for the fences has its place, but unless someone develops a nexus inside the Oval Office, this is a good time for small ball.