If they ever erect a monument to Democratic inaction, cowardice and waffling, it should have Baird's face on it.

@3 - No, it didn't work at all. People have been flocking back to the Republicans en masse, and Obama's approval ratings are sinking lower and lower. The Dems should have seen this from the start since it has been this way with Repubs for the last few decades. Logic and reality have nothing at all to do with Republicans. They're controlled by fear, anger, and Fox News. It was completely pointless to try to pretend they wanted Republican help, because Democrats don't WANT Republican "help" on the bill, and because Republicans are going to hate them durn libruls no matter what. Nothing is ever going to change that. Bipartisanship is a bad joke used to sucker people into voting who have no idea how politics works. I can't believe the amount of time the Dems have wasted trying to look "reasonable" to Republicans. Republicans abandoned reason well before they elected W to a second term.