Bill Daley's Bridge to Nowhere

With the advent of the new year, it's out with the old and in with the new at the White House.

Bill Daley's departure his job as the President Obama's chief of staff is a promising sign for progressives. The President hired Bill Daley to build bridges to corporate America. But when Daley tried to build the bridge, conservatives immediately torched it. Bill Daley's attempt to create a positive relationship between the White House and congressional Republicans was a bridge to nowhere.

In a speech he delivered just after Labor Day this year, President Obama traded in a futile concilatory approach to the GOP for a brand spanking new confrontational approach. In that speecch, the President criticized congressional Republicans for blocking his efforts to create jobs. When he gave the speech, it was clear that conciliation was out and confrontation was in. It also was evident that economic populism was in and Bill Daley was out.

In the NFL, the opposition makes mistakes when you put ratchet up the pressure. This is just what has happened on in Washington. The President's pressure forced House Republicans to act like spoiled children on the fight over the extension of the payroll tax. President Obama also demonstrated that he is the only adult who works on Pennsylvania Avenue.