Fat Chance

According to the Washington Post, the President is prepared now to play nice with Democrats:

The White House sent the strong signal this morning that Bush intends to offer a conciliatory message, indicating he will express the desire to work closely with Democrats during the next two years on Iraq and domestic issues such as education and energy.

What a load of crap. Bush has no intention of working constructively with Democrats at all. His hints to the contrary are just political positioning, so he can beat up the Dems the first time they disagree with him. For Bush, it's always been his way or the highway, and that's not going to change.

If you need further proof, just look at the list of issues. Iraq? Bush is on record saying that the Democrats are siding with the terrorists — not a lot of room for "compromise". Education? He hasn't been engaged since he passed NCLB, and I don't expect him to scrap his signature domestic initiative. Energy? Now we're just getting silly.

Remember, Bush isn't exactly famous for admitting his mistakes, legion though they may be. Don't expect him to start now. I predict he'll spend a lot more time working around the Democrats with executive orders and such, rather than talking with them. And Democrats should avoid being seduced by phantom bipartisanship and stand their ground. Bush is a failure, and no one wins by following his lead.

Update: It goes without saying, but if Bush really was serious about bipartisanship, he wouldn't keep talking about the "Democrat Party" during his press conference today. It's the "Democratic Party", George. If Bush can't even bring himself to call their party by its real name, how can we believe that he will honestly try to work with Democrats?

Update 11/22/06: Ruth Marcus has the last word today about the "ic" syllable that Bush refuses to speak.