OBAMA IS BACK, OR IS HE? – AT 9:26 A.M. ET:  I find amusing – well, actually revolting – the sudden political resurrection of Barack Obama, courtesy of the mainstream media.

Suddenly, we are told, the president is back on track, as if the election of just last month never happened.  Why, Obama has won great "victories" from the lame-duck session of Congress.  He's on a roll.  He's Batman, Superman, even Superwoman, all rolled into one. 

So let's see:  A lame-duck session of Congress, with the heavy Democratic majorities elected two years ago, slams through major legislation that hasn't even been fully debated, showing utter contept for the will of the people, as expressed last month.  And this is considered a great victory for the president.

Not so fast, Barack.  The new club comes in on January 5th, and you won't be doin' much slammin'. 

Personally, I think we've lost something in the last few weeks, no matter how you feel about individual pieces of legislation that got rocketed through.  We've lost a bit of democracy.  By tradition, lame-duck sessions handle only routine matters, deferring to the newly elected Congress to take up major legislation.  But the current incarnation of the Democratic Party doesn't think much of this democracy stuff.  Democracy, to this largely coastal, largely leftist crowd, is what exists when their side wins.  When it doesn't win, "we don't need no rotten democracy."

So we've had a runaway Congress, getting it its pet legislation enacted before the new Congress takes over.  And the sad fact is that the Republican establishment, true to form, went right along with it, as Lindsey Graham pointed out with disgust.

It will now be up to Republicans to pull themselves together, come up with a positive agenda, and make it clear that the days of gimmicks and fast-talk operations are over.  Or are they?

December 23, 2010