Bipartisanship is NOT Presidential

Ever since Jefferson and Hamilton argued over whether the federal government should be centralized or more of an overseer of the powerful state governments, our political system has been based on battling parties. They disagreed voraciously, even called each other names. Over their partisan mudslinging, Adams and Jefferson never spoke in person again. You know what none of them did? Reach across the aisle.

When Jackson ripped control of the government away from the Jeffersonians, he used his time in office to shift the agenda to match the values of his new Democratic Party. Then the Whig Party rose up in opposition, and when the country's values were more clearly aligned to the Democrats than the Whigs, they re-formed into the Republican Party, which was at the time, the more liberal of the parties. That's right, Democrats used to be "government is scary" Conservatives. When Cleveland became the first Democrat in nearly 30 years to get elected, he used his time in office to push through a Democratic agenda. When Teddy Roosevelt decided the Executive Branch needed more power, he didn't wait for the Congress to give it to him, he took it. Wilson didn't wait for the Republicans, FDR didn't wait for the Republicans, Reagan didn't wait for the Democrats. Presidents lead, everyone else follows.

Liberal and Conservative, both have valid points on a great many issues. Without saying which of these I do and don't agree with:

• The government has great powers to help people on a grand scale in a way that they're answerable to the voters not just those with enough money to have influence; however, our republican form of government is slow and inefficient and if we put the government in charge of too much, we're just creating a government run Monopoly.

• The money spent on the military should be spent on our amazingly lacking school systems; however, the money we've spent on the military has protected us by making us world leaders by virtue of our unmatched might.

• It is the responsibility of those who have to help those who don't, and the great wealth of the federal government mandates social programs; however, when the government becomes a permanent safety net, it encourages laziness by rewarding failure.

Obama's got the right idea, take ideas from everyone. Health care shouldn't be a partisan issue, but it is. By all means use every idea at your disposal, but stop trying to be so fucking bipartisan. It's not very presidential. You won, they didn't. For the first time in way too long, you don't need a single Republican vote to win. Sure, it would be a symbolic gesture to gain their support, but while you try to be Mr. Popular, you're giving power to the right by asking for their votes.

Fuck them, every last one of them. We all hated Bush, but even when he was dead wrong, there was no doubt he was the man in the White House. We elected a liberal leader with strong vision, a Jefferson, a Jackson, a Roosevelt (you pick which), and we're getting a wishy-washy centrist. Just write the damned health care bill how you want it, and get it passed before the 2010 election season creeps up on us. If you're right, you might get elected again, and so do the Congressional members of your party. If you're wrong, you might go down in flames. If you fail because you were more interested in being popular than getting the work done, you will most definitely go down in flames and probably take the whole party with you. Weak presidents can kill a whole party, just ask Millard Fillmore (yeah, I went there).

The Joe Wilsons of the world have proven that the ones that disagree with your health care plan will hate you no matter what you say or do. They will never like you. You will never turn Joe Wilsons or Sarah Palins into enlightened people. They will hate you, everything you do, everything you are, everything you stand for, and everything you represent. Stop trying to win them over, it won't happen.

Lead us, for the love of Pete, or make room for someone who can be the guy you said you were supposed to be. You're already president, what more do you want? Pass your health care bill, YOUR health care bill. Pass YOUR environmental protection bill. Pass YOUR social programs, YOUR education plan, YOUR whatever you want. You could lose your majority in 2010, so do it fast.