(Update: apparently I forgot to linkify things that were supposed to be links! I was sure I had done. That’s what I get for posting on only one cup of coffee. Fixed now.)
As most people probably know by now, on Friday President Obama accepted an invitation to speak to and answer questions from the Republican caucus at their annual retreat — on the condition that the news media be allowed and the speech and Q&A session be broadcast live.
And as most people probably know by now, the Republicans are almost certainly thinking to themselves, “how could we have been so stupid?” (The answer, I think, is that they got so used to the lies they use to keep the rubes voting for them that they kind of forgot they were lies, and they honestly believed their sad little talking-points recital would leave Obama transfixed and tongue-tied, and he’d eventually have to break down and admit they were right about everything.)
If you haven’t seen the video, you should try to find time to do so — it’s a bit over an hour, but it’s pretty remarkable. Each time someone asks a question, it’s clear they think they’re scoring a major point, and that there’s just no way the President can refute their argument. And each time, he calmly, reasonably, cuts their head off. You can see the whole thing at Shakesville (with links to more discussion), and TNC provides the soundtrack, but I’ve provided some highlights below the fold.
