Obama the master strategist: How conservatives see the fiscal-cliff deal

Like beauty, politics is in the eye of the beholder. To wit: President Obama has been assailed by some liberal commentators for his supposedly incompetent handling of the fiscal cliff negotiations, particularly his inability to keep to his pledge to raise taxes on those making $250,000 a year. "The World's Worst Poker Player," read a headline on Paul Krugman's blog. And as the budget battle in Congress moves toward the debt ceiling, many have suggested that Obama, abetted by his baffling inability to think strategically, has painted himself into a corner. "Obama claims, and seems to genuinely believe, that he won't let Republicans jack him over the debt ceiling," says Jonathan Chait at New York. "But if Republicans could hold the middle class tax cuts hostage, they'll try to hold the debt ceiling hostage."

In this view, Obama is the equivalent of Boy Blunder: He was not only incapable of winning big when his hand was strong, but has potentially set himself up for a bloodbath at the hands of the GOP. But if we take a trip to the other side of the op-ed page, a starkly different narrative merges. According to some conservatives, Obama is the most brilliant political operative in town — ruthless, cunning, unstoppable. This is how Charles Krauthammer at The Washington Post sees Obama's handling of the fiscal cliff talks:

This version of Obama enjoys nothing more than to crush his enemies, see them driven before him, and revel in the lamentations of their women. Per Peggy Noonan at The Wall Street Journal:

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

At this point, we would usually say something like, "The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle." But in this case, the answer is obvious: Obama is clearly the love child of a Jedi Master and Sauron.