No Respect At All

President Obama and the congressional Republican leadership were supposed to talk over dinner at the White House tonight, but incoming Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority - Minority - Leader Mitch McConnell asked that the meeting be postponed, citing scheduling conflicts in configuring the Republican congressional caucuses. This is like an aspiring actor turning down a starmaking part in a big-budget movie because he's already committed to a soap commercial. The Bush tax cuts are about to expire with no definite idea of whether or even how to extend them, people are still having trouble finding employment in this jobless recovery, and the congressional Republican leaders would rather dole out their legislative assignments that have dinner with the President.

It has become blatantly obvious the the Republicans disrespect this President and that they want to humiliate him in every conceivable way. They can't bear the thought of giving someone young -and let's face it, blacker - than they are their time. Meanwhile, congressional Democrats are ready to cede on Republicans to economic issues without much of a fight.

Although Boehner and McConnell have rescheduled their meeting with the President for November 30 - twelve days later - it seems unlikely that the three men can come up with any workable working relationship, and that the Republicans would rather wait until the new Congress convenes to tell Obama how it's going to be. They've done everything but call him "boy" so far to demean him. Even Bob Dole never took Bill Clinton to task like this after the 1994 midterm elections. McConnell has made it clear that he wants Obama destroyed and defeated - in that order - and the Democrats are willing to go along to get along.

The Republicans already have some leverage. Even before the new Congress has taken office, the Republicans can use the latest poll numbers to jerk Obama around in this congressional lame duck session. Only a quarter of Americans think Obama can be re-elected in 2012, and his approval ratings remain mired at about 45 percent. No matter how much Obama tries to get his message across, no one seems to want to pay attention to him.

Is anybody listening? Oh, there's no respect at all.

(I, for one, would have loved to have dinner with the President and discussed issues with him, because I have plenty to say about that. Ironically, I ate out with my mother tonight for my birthday after we postponed it . . . for twelve days.)