Reelect Me So I Can Sign Even More Bad Laws

Mickey Kaus parsed President Obama’s veto pledge, and came to a very different conclusion than most people about his reelection strategy:

That also means Obama hasn’t chosen a Trumanesque “run against Congress” strategy over a statesmanlike “grand bargain with Boehner” strategy. He’s still trying to keep both strategies in play. I suspect he still wants a grand bargain even if he gets stiffed on his tax increases on the rich. Monday’s speech looks like mostly a show to please the left. ** The loopholes give it away.

I can count on the fingers of one… finger, the number of times Mickey has missed an angle — and here it is.

The President has a third choice, which is to sign whatever grand bargain comes out of the supercommittee, in the name of averting catastrophe. But that doesn’t mean he has to like it. Obama can still rail against the deal, can still run against Congress. This is exactly what Obama did when Congress extended the Bush tax rates last year: He signed it and used it as a cudgel to beat the GOP.

I can’t think of another President with the chutzpah to campaign against laws bearing his own signature, but Obama might just make a habit of it going into election day.