Standup comic and political commentator Bill Maher came up with a great new verb the other night on his HBO show "Real Time." The new word is "blacktrack."
Blacktrack: v. The act of changing one's mind because President Obama has agreed with you.
Now the thesis to this post is that the much-anticipated government shut down on October 1st is not going to occur. A continuing resolution is going to pass and the mail will go on. And the reason for this isn't because President Obama agrees that a government shut down is a grand idea, so the reason the GOPers will change their tune isn't exactly blacktracking, but it's related.
See, Michael O'Brien over at NBC news has a good point. Should a government shut down occur, President Obama has an advantage. It is helpful to him for Republicans to shut down the government. Here is what he writes:
"But if Obama has at least one thing going for him heading into his battle against Republicans, it’s that poll after poll has shown that Americans don’t think that eliminating “Obamacare” is worth the cost of a government shutdown."
"Republicans complain that it’s been Obama – not them – who is being inflexible in fiscal talks. But if the numbers are to be believed, a shutdown could reinvigorate Obama politically, and thereby likely decrease his willingness to cut a deal that is more favorable to Republicans. It could also strengthen his hand heading into next month’s fight over raising the nation’s debt ceiling."
All very good points. President Obama has everything to gain, and nothing to lose if the GOPers go through with their blackmail.
But this isn't blacktracking. It's related though. Maher calls it "pulling a one hatey."
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