Shocker: Congressional Democrats Throw Obama Under Bus

The transition from the Bush Administration to the incoming Obama Administration has been remarkably smooth and graceful so far, better than anyone could have hoped. Despite media hype to the contrary, Barack Obama has been careful to defer to President Bush's authority, while Bush has extended cooperation with, and sought advice from, Obama.

This cannot stand. So say the congressional Democrats who are lining up to take shots at Obama for not staggering around like a drunken bull in a china shop made of balsawood. From TPM:

"At a time of great crisis with mortgage foreclosures and autos, he says we only have one president at a time," Frank said. "I'm afraid that overstates the number of presidents we have. He's got to remedy that situation."

Ha! Funny stuff, Barn. What the hell does that mean, "remedy the situation?"

Should Obama sidle up to Bush at his next press conference, bust him in his nuts, and grab the mic?

The hits kept coming:

"The Obama team has to step up," Sen. Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and one of the lead negotiators, said Nov. 21 in Hartford, Conn. "In the minds of the people, this is the Obama administration. I don't think we can wait until January 20."

Two days later, Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, a point man in helping his state's main industry, called on Obama to help resolve the dispute over money for the auto loan package.

"It would be very helpful if the president-elect would become more involved in resolving the issue over the source of the funds," he said. "I want him to offer his assistance. He is a person who can really bring people together."

The whole thing reminds me of that scene in Airplane! In which everyone on the plane lines up to slap the hysterical passenger.

Look, the Democrats are succumbing to natural impatience, and I understand the desire to get started already. But they need to recognize that Obama has a razor-thin line to walk for these next few weeks, and they ought to at least put out a unified message. This is the Democrats' whole problem.

They also ought to be able to see the inherent danger, for Obama, in taking ownership of a ship while someone else is still steering it. In other words, Obama can't let his mouth write checks that the rest of him can't cash.

I wish I had time to track down the many times I predicted this very thing. Hopefully, once he is sworn in, Obama will send Rahm Emanuel out to talk with congressional Democrats about message discipline. Otherwise, this is going to be a long 4 years, instead of a breezy 8.

Tommy Christopher co-hosts "Unusable Signal" , on BlogTalkRadio Tues - Thur at 10pm, and Fri, & Sat at 11pm. Click here for the Unusable Signal homepage.