Come back by Friday, he said, and pass this bill. Otherwise, we won't be able to restructure our debt in time, it will cost us $165 million in interest, and it will lead to 1500 layoffs.

They didn't pass the bill. Now, Wisconsin governor Walker is saying come back by Tuesday and pass the bill, or it will cost the state $165 million in interest, and lead to 1500 layoffs.

Didn't he learning anything in Paternity 101? You don't need to make severe threats to get your kids to behave - but you do have to make the threats believable. If you aren't consistent, kids ignore you.

I don't know how real the Tuesday headline is, but I know how believeable it is. It's not.

Reagan told the Air Traffic Controllers that if they didn't return to work, they'd be fired, and when they didn't return to work, he fired them, even if they had doctors' excuses. It took quite a while to recover from the shortage of controllers - but from then on, Reagan was taken seriously.

Walker, on the other hand, blinked. From now on, he eats at the card table with the little kids. He's not to be taken seriously.

If Walker had announced today that the first layoff slips were to be mailed out later this week, and the legislators needed to return promptly in order to keep it at only 1500, Walker might have won. Instead, because the governor flinched, the legislators have pwned his ass. Stick a fork in him, he's done.

Mr. Obama? You've been doing the same thing. The electorate prefers dynamic leaders to wimps. If you'd stop giving away the store to the opposition party every time you turn around, you'd be more popular with members of both parties.

Other Bloggers On Related Topics:
Barack Obama - layoffs - Machiavelli - negotiating - Ronald Reagan - Scott Walker - threats - unions