Both Sides Are Responsible for Failure of Fiscal Cliff Talks

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A friend writes to explain how the punditocracy will end up describing the failure of Plan B:

I think it’s pretty clear that both parties are to blame for Plan B. And by that I mean the reason for Plan B, the creation of Plan B and the failure of Plan B.

And if you cannot see how the White House / Democrats could possibly be remotely responsible for Plan B, just wait for David Gergen to explain it to you. I’m sure it’s all very meta and likely comes out as both sides should have caved more sooner. And then all of this could have been avoided. I’m sure this is very clear. Somehow.

This has an unfortunate ring of plausibility, doesn’t it? Bob Woodward will tell us that Obama is a terrible negotiator. David Brooks will tell us that Democrats never understood what Republicans wanted. (Oh wait….) The Washington Post editorial team will bemoan Democratic opposition to raising the Medicare eligibility age and its unwillingness to ask for more “sacrifice.” Jennifer Rubin will tell us that Obama’s offers were phony all along. (Oh wait….) It’s gonna be a long weekend.

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