—Now, politics is the art of the possible. Mr. Obama was never going to get everything his supporters wanted. But there’s a point at which realism shades over into weakness, and progressives increasingly feel that the administration is on the wrong side of that line. It seems as if there is nothing Republicans can do that will draw an administration rebuke: Senator Charles E. Grassley feeds the death panel smear, warning that reform will “pull the plug on grandma,” and two days later the White House declares that it’s still committed to working with him. It’s hard to avoid the sense that Mr. Obama has wasted months trying to appease people who can’t be appeased, and who take every concession as a sign that he can be rolled. Indeed, no sooner were there reports that the administration might accept co-ops as an alternative to the public option than G.O.P. leaders announced that co-ops, too, were unacceptable. So progressives are now in revolt. Mr. Obama took their trust for granted, and in the process lost it. And now he needs to win it back.

Paul Krugman - Obama’s Trust Problem - NYTimes.com (via apsies)

Right again, Mr. Krugman. 

If one is trying to do the right thing, the thing the people sent one to office to do, and the opposition throws a fit, listen.  Work on smoothing the rift and even making some concessions where possible to get more people on board. 

However, when the opposition refuses to let the supporters finish a sentence before contorting it, walk away.  If they can’t play nice, pick up your things, Mr. President, and move on.  You’ve got a long list of complex problems to resolve and you simply don’t have time for these playground antics.