I'm planning to write another post today explaining what my research has told me about why this is necessary and why we should try to support the effort. I do truly believe that part of the backlash is the product of a Democratic party electorate who is tired of cleaning up the messes the Republicans leave behind. They spent a surplus into a deficit with record debt, and left President Obama with the bill. This is what we get to clean up now, and it's part of the price for enacting other more palatable bills, like the stimulus and health care reform.

I want to hear what Obama has to say in the State of the Union before I determine whether the “freeze” – an inapt term, as I understand it, given that it does not prohibit spending increases for jobs, healthcare and so forth – is a good or bad idea. Sure, maybe “freeze” was a bad choice of words; but is that a reason to go ballistic, as some folks have? Not really, particularly when it undermines the president before we even hear what he has to say.

I think we need to have more substantive debates about policy and fewer debates about gamesmanship and “strategy.”

Oh, and by the way … I want one of them iTablet thingies, too!

This post was mentioned on Twitter by Karoli: Lessons President Obama can learn from Steve Jobs http://bit.ly/8uW5Az...