Discriminations

At a carefully staged appearance at a Democratic retreat,

Senate Democrats held back from asking President Barack Obama about healthcare reform during a carefully scripted question-and-answer session in front of television cameras.

With the cameras rolling, a group of senators selected in advance by the Democratic leadership asked questions about such topics as partisan gridlock and GOP obstruction.

Nevertheless, the President managed to commit a quote that should headline a chapter in the history books. Responding to a question from the endangered Sen. Blanche Lincoln, who asked if the president “would be willing to push back against liberals and ‘look for that common ground that we need to work with Republicans,’” Obama responded that “he would attempt to convince his party’s left wing to take a less ideological approach to economic challenges.”

And then came this presidential bomb:

“We’ve got to make sure that our party understands that, like it or not, we have to have a financial system that is healthy and functioning, so we can’t be demonizing every bank out there,” Obama said. “We’ve got to be the party of business, small business and large business, because they produce jobs.”

Under Obama’s leadership, the Democrats seem to be divided into two groups:

1) those who don’t like having “a financial system that is healthy and functioning” but understand the need for one, and who thus “demonize” only some banks (many? most?) but not all of them; and

2) those who don’t understand the need for a healthy and functioning financial system and who consequently demonize all banks.

What a party.