Sometimes in politics the ugliness of the process can become almost as harmful as the damaging substance of the policies themselves. That is what is occurring now, with Speaker Pelosi indicating a preference for a parliamentary tactic that would allow House Democrats to pass the Senate’s health care bill without voting directly on the bill itself (as you’ve no doubt seen mentioned in previous posts, this tactic is variously known as the “self-executing rule,” “deem and pass,” and “the Slaughter Solution,” named after Louise Slaughter, chairman of the House Rules Committee).

If you want a sense of how much this whole process is damaging the Obama administration — the apostles of “hope and change,” you’ll recall — take a look at Robert Gibbs trying to answer whether the “Slaughter Solution” constitutes the kind of up-or-down vote the president promised. It’s almost painful to watch. The unmasking of the Obama presidency continues, one day at a time.