Perhaps it was when I turned on FoxNews to watch the health care summit that I turned away from it so quickly. One of the few Democrats all but certain to keep his seat in the Senate this fall–and one our federal legislature can most do without–Charles Schumer was droning on about the common ground shared between Republicans and Democrats. He didn’t seem defensive or as aggressively partisan as he normally does.

Instead, he seemed pathetic almost, eager to be liked, desperate to the be one whom everyone holds up as a master of decorum. In short, not the hyperpartisan politician he normally plays on the Senate floor and in the presence of TV cameras.

Then, his Arizona colleague Jon Kyl chimed in. While he did do something his colleaguethe room was the November elections and even Obama was sanguine about the Fall.

I picked up on two tactics early on. After every Republican speaker concluded his remarks, Obama would rebut the argument before allowing the next speaker to speak. He would declare whether the points made were legimate or not, as if he were the final judge. When Obama has the final word and the ability to declare whether the argument made was legitimate, he gave himself the opportunity to weaken every single argument they made.

The second thing I picked up on fairly early was a tendency by some Democrats to open their remarks with a comment like “we’re really not that far apart”. Harkin, Baucus, and Schumer all employed that tactic. It was bizarre because the