Rahm does good

Even a broken Rahm...

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel on Sunday ratcheted up the Democrats' effort to turn a House Republican's apology to BP into a political pivot point, saying last week's comments by Rep. Joe L. Barton (Tex.) were a reminder of the "governing philosophy" that Republicans would bring into power if they win big in November.

Barton, the ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, apologized to BP chief executive Tony Hayward last week after the White House demanded that the company create a $20 billion escrow fund to pay for damages wrought by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a demand Barton termed a "shakedown." Under fire from Democrats and under pressure from fellow Republicans, Barton apologized for his apology.

On ABC's "This Week," Emanuel said Barton's comments were further evidence of Republicans' pro-business tilt. Emanuel also cited their opposition to the pending financial regulatory overhaul and Kentucky Senate nominee Rand Paul's assertion last month that the administration's anti-BP rhetoric was "un-American."

"The approach here, expressed and supported by other voices in the Republican Party, sees the aggrieved party as BP, not the fishermen and the communities down there affected. And that would be the governing philosophy," Emanuel said. "And I think what Joe Barton did is remind the American people, in case they forgot: This is how the Republicans would govern."

Seriously, though, this is further evidence that the administration is finally understanding that it lives in a partisan universe, and that in order to survive, in order for Dems in Congress to survive, the White House needs to start playing partisan.