A few words about Obama's speech today

Paul Ryan rips Obama�s speech: �Rather than building bridges, he�s poisoning wells�
Via Mediaite, three minutes of righteous rage. It�s all here: Obama�s gutless insistence on farming this issue out to commissions to spare himself the political risks of leadership; his betrayal of his sunny 2008 campaign message, swapping the post-partisan Hopenchange problem-solver crap for a double-barreled attack on the GOP; and of course, the horribly cynical electoral calculus in all this, which earns a sneering reference from Ryan to the �Campaigner-in-Chief.� It�s that last bit that bothers him the most, I think. Taking the lead on Social Security and Medicare might make him a rock star to movement conservatives, but there�s a real chance that the backlash will destroy his political career (and the GOP�s House majority). Already, at least one poll has 51 percent saying that Ryan�s 2012 budget cuts too much. He knows the danger perfectly well, in other words, but he�s stepping up because it�s that important. And meanwhile the country�s nominal leader, ostensibly heaven-sent by the Democratic gods to rescue America from its troubles per his own campaign mythology, is taking a pass. It�s a good thing Ryan hates your grandma so damned much or else he�d have to be wondering at this point why he bothered.

He told the Journal this morning that there�s precisely zero chance of a �grand bargain� on entitlements between Democrats and Republicans but a slight chance of a compromise on the narrower issue of Social Security. That�s how invested the left is in Medicare�s current structure, which is rocketing us towards fiscal catastrophe: The �third rail of American politics� is now a better candidate for a deal than Medicare is. If you�re the praying type, now�s the time.