Obama’s capitulation to fabulist strategic narratives from the Right

At his blog, Michael Dorf writes of President Obama’s penchant for or “pattern of preemptive counterproductive appeasement:”

[....] “From the moment that the IRS/Tea Party story broke, the President has expressed outrage and has already fired the acting head of the IRS.  He thus aims to show the American people that he shares the basic world-view of the people on the right who are outraged, but wants to chart a somewhat more moderate course. Hmm, where have we seen this before?

Oh, I don’t know.  How about in every single budget negotiation with Republicans in Congress?” [....]

While at Religious Left Law, Bob Hockett pens an incisive and witty concurrence, hoping Obama will “reclaim his spine:”

[....] “[Republicans] are about nothing more than continuing systematically planned...‘dirty tricks’ in the name of undermining national tax policy, health care policy, economic policy more broadly and even the democratic process itself. They are simply the latest tactics, in other words, in the ongoing Republican strategy of systematic sabotage.

Against this backdrop, I submit, the only real offense of which the President is guilty is either Pollyannish blindness, low energy, or cowardice.

Why in heaven’s name did the President presumably ask for and certainly accept the resignation of a decent man, Mr. Miller, over at the understaffed, underfunded IRS last week?  Why did he stand by in silence while grandstanding and outright lying Republican House members publically humiliated this decent public servant in bad faith showtrial ‘hearings’ last week?  And why does the President not change course now, now that Republican intentions are so transparent?” [...]

Hockett proceeds to articulate precisely what needs to be done for Obama to reclaim his spine.