WHAT OBAMA NEEDS NOW IS A KERFUFFLE

The renowned "kerfuffle" between the President of the United States and the Speaker of the House is now history, but not the damage done to the presidency (never has a president been treated with such abject disrespect). Speaker Boehner broke a code with the office of the presidency: the code of respect for the office if not the office holder. Can we go any lower?

Of course, Obama asked for it. Surely he knew that there was a Republican debate set for the night his office proposed for the speech. My guess is that he and his staff never figured that Congress would turn down a president's request to speak before a joint session of Congress.

Or they didn't heed a lesson taught by Speaker Boehner during the debt debate: Boehner then stabbed the president in the back, as he did now, making a he said/he said argument, exactly as he did the other day slyly declaring that he had never agreed to the original date as Obama's Chief-of-staff insists that Boehner did.

Once again the Republicans, who care little of the optics, played the political hand and now Obama has been set up.

Next week's speech on jobs better be the speech of Obama's life. It better be chock-filled with ideas. It had better have some huge surprise.

Without that Obama is going to be pummeled by the media who are as disgusted with this political rookie and his mistakes as is the Right and Obama's own left.

I don't envy the president's position. For what can he actually suggest? A new New Deal? Big Deal!

His only option is to pull some fabulous political move, opting for a big plan that would keep the House from having to vote on the president's package. This would get everyone up in arms and give the media something to jabber about other than yet another tired old jobs plan.

Yes, Obama, you need to create a kerfuffle or you're screwed.

Diversions, Obama. It's your only way out, except, of course, to fire your Chief-of-staff, Bill Daley, who has turned you into the Wimp-in-chief since he arrived in Washington.