Unless voters see Obama as he really is (a liar and hypocrite). As you said, there are short term and long term wins.
It will be an interesting example of political reality if raising the debt ceiling turns from VERY UNPOPULAR to its very unpopular to not raise it, swapped in a short period of time.
Exactly! And it's not certain that Obama's playbook will work this time. Some of us are feeling what George Will called "apocalypse fatigue." Both parties have pushed temporary momentum beyond what independents feel comfortable with.
Weeks ago it ‘looked’ like Obama was in a corner over this. It looked like he was going to have to give in to Republicans demands of huge entitlement $$$$$ cuts if he wanted his ‘request’ (Republicans words) honored for a debt increase. While Democrats were sitting at the negotiating table smiling at Republicans and nodding, they were leaking that they were open to > trillion dollars of budget cuts, if only Republicans would..... Obama never had Democrat support for that in congress, and knew he didnt need it. Even Pelosi has taken up this theme after saying it was not a possibility.
So they get Republicans appearing to walk away from those > trillion $$$ ‘cuts’ that they never could have produced. Then they make the threat about SS and other payments being held back, and Republicans publicly offer a surrender plan which they cant pass either (right now) themselves, and that they would need Pelosi/Reid support on for votes to pass, political suicide.
I guess the heat goes up the next week or so.