January 21, 2015

Memo to David Brooks. After six long years of putting up with Republicans calling him everything other than a black man, or Mr. President, President Obama has damn well earned the right to give your side a tweak that doesn't suit you once in a while without all of you hyperventilating over it.

WOODRUFF: Was it too idealistic at the end when he was saying we're better than this, we're the United States of America, we need to work together? Does he run the risk of sounding naive David?

BROOKS: I frankly think he hasn't earned that. I think you've got to earn that with your conduct and he hasn't been as bipartisan as I think he should have been. Not that the Republicans have either. They've probably been worse, but you know, you've got to earn it.

I think you see the evolution of the man who came in I think believing that, but very quickly thinks that very partisan and his competitive nature, he's an extremely competitive man, has been aroused, and so we saw it most in that ad hoc comment when some Republicans applauded when he said that I will not run again, I forget the exact words, it was something like I beat you twice (crosstalk) I won twice, and so that's in him. And that's part of him, that hyper-competitiveness has been growing and growing week by week, year by year and it frames the speech as well.

This was an in-your-face speech to Republicans and we saw how miserable John Boehner looked sitting back there. This was not a consolatory speech and it's amazing that the guy just got crushed in an election and he comes out very strong and very assertive. The growing economy helped. But you wouldn't know he just got crushed in an election just a (inaudible).

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