Greg Sargent on Compromise...and how Americans...all protestations aside, really don't believe in it.

Greg followed up his overview piece on the Tax Cuts with another really, really, good piece on "Compromise", and how Americans, all their protestations aside, really don't believe in it:

CBS News has a new poll out finding that huge majorities of Americans want Obama and Republicans to "compromise," rather than hold out for what they believe in. This echoes what we keep being told about the midterm elections: It proves the American people want the two parties to "work together to get things done."

Let's stipulate at the outset that these types of statements don't have any meaning in the real world. People differ on what constitutes compromise to begin with, viewing it through the prism of what they want.

And remember that thing I wrote about the President always keeping his powder dry for a battle that never seems to happen? Greg puts it more bluntly:

People don't give leaders points for occupying some sort of precious moral high ground that comes with being more compromising than the other side. People give leaders points for delivering what they want, which of course varies wildly from one constituency to another. One party, it seems, understands this far better than the other one does.