One of the Few Remaining Honest Reporters in America: John Kass of the Chicago Tribune On the Sham 'Health-Care Summit'

The Obama Administration’s definition of “bipartisanship” is: “do it our way or else,” which is why — as the sham of the “healthcare summit” plays itself out on national televion — John Kass’s explanation of the Chicago Way is such a timely piece of journalism. Here’s a sample:

The Republicans wanted to dance. Now they’ll have to step lightly. They were foolish to get trapped in his so-called summit on national health care. Or did they actually think they could outperform the skinny fellow from Chicago?

Obama will be in his element, talking and lecturing, the law professor framing the debate. He’ll spend hours being seen as reasonable. The Republicans will balk and the president will shrug. He’ll sigh and say he tried to reason with them but they refused.

Then once the cameras are turned off, he’ll take out the baseball bat and explain how things get done The Chicago Way.

Obama understands the first rule of “compromise” — once you get your opponent off his bedrock principles and starting to meet you halfway, the game is already over and all that’s left is to run the table at your leisure.

So as you watch the president, with his saturnine scowl betraying his faux-Bobby Bonilla smile every step of the way, and listen to Schemer Schumer — the reincarnation of Dutch Schultz’s legendary mouthpiece, Dixie Davis, whose every word is a lie, whose every gesture of good fellowship is feigned and whose every offer of reasonable compromise is a poisoned pill — try to keep in mind Kass’s analysis:

It’s all about muscle. As an acolyte of the Chicago Democratic machine, he’s seen muscle at work in Daleyland. Now he’s in the White House, and he’s going to use muscle too.

And then, just so you can understand the sheer depths of hypocrisy of the people you’re up against, watch this: