Obama plays nice, GOP turns tough - David Frum

This is a moderate Republican insider's lament. In David Frum's view the President is a disastrous negotiator. He reports that Obama has offered $6 in cuts for every $1 in new revenue. Obama thought the Republicans would never be as irresponsible as they seem ready to be.

It is certainly the fear of Democratic progressives - that Obama either doesn't know how to negotiate - or, worse, doesn't really share their values, that he is, in Paul Krugman's derisive phrase, a Very Serious Person - like David Brooks. The tilt is always to the right. Their "tough choices" always are toughest for the weak and easiest on the rich. - GWC

Obama plays nice, GOP turns tough - CNN.com: "Through it all, Obama has played nice, again and again entreating his Republican opponents to emulate his example and play nice too. It's not what Lyndon Johnson would have done. It's not what Franklin Roosevelt would have done. I doubt it's what Hillary Clinton would have done.
Which brings me back to my starting question: Why don't the Democrats rebel? Presumably, they elected Obama to stand up for their shared principles. But he's not standing up. He's rolling over. Or being rolled."