re: #63 Charleston Chew

Or to look at it in a different way: we know the President knows basketball, and in basketball it’s sometimes advantageous to draw a foul to get your opponent into foul trouble and get some free throws. Maybe extending an open hand to people who are obviously his enemies is the President’s way of “drawing a foul”, so that he has the moral authority to treat them as hostile and meet them with force subsequently.

My only problem with this theory is how far gone some of his opponents are. Some of these people (i.e., Bachmann or Gingrich) are so far right they make Reagan look like a hippie.

Not the greatest analogy in the world, but to me it’s like engaging in a practical joke war with the Joker. You’re dealing with an unpredictable opponent who will do anything to win, regardless of the collateral damage.