In a lengthy interview with the Washington Post, President Obama shared with the Post’s reporter how he had acquired his renowned negotiating skills, including learning the fine art of compromise: “It really started back when I was in the Choom Gang. We used to have many heated debates while we were riding around toking up: how many times to cruise the mall; whether the windows shold be all the way up or cracked a little… I discovered at that time that I had a unique, God-given ability to objectively understand the views and opinions of everyone involved and then skillfully get everyone to do it my way”. Later in life he found this useful while President of the Harvard Law Review: “If you think debating with Congress is difficult, you’ve never had the experience of arguing with a group of would-be lawyers about proper grammar and the correct use of the semi-colon. Believe me, those debates could be rough! But it helped me realize that it was actually easier to lead around a bunch of narcissistic, Ivy-League educated, hot-air balloons than it was to lead the general population. I think my understanding of this basic truth is what allowed me to take over the leadership of the Democratic Party”.
When asked about what tactics he planned to use to work out a compromise with Republicans on the budget, President Obama said “I’ll invite them to the White House. We’ll serve them donuts and coffee. I’ll tell them what I think our compromise should be and then I’ll tell them to take it or leave it”. When asked how this differed from issuing an ultimatum, the President said: “With an ultimatum they don’t get donuts”.
©Obamabeans 12/18/2012