Peggy Noonan's point is an important one here. The brinkmanship is always on the part of President Obama. The protracted, feet stuck in the mud process is always of his making. Because he feels the longer the process goes, the more he can torture the right. He gains nothing from quick resolutions. Make the process and the result both ugly and blame them.

In reality, he's masterful at it. Sure, having the mainstream media doing his bidding helps. But I believe he's overplaying his hand this time and Republicans should walk. Karl Rove in the Wall Street Journal this week applauded Republicans for being the adult in the room during this process. The adult thing to do now is to walk away.