Republican regrets

Last night I watched the video of President Obama's meeting with the House Republican caucus in Baltimore.. It was a question-and-answer session, though some of the questions sounded more like small speeches.

What a delight to see Obama get good and tough with those folks, especially when he was blamed for the disastrous baggage he inherited from George W. Bush. All in all, I would say the president took his questioners to the cleaners. Once again he showed an extremely keen intelligence and grasp of facts, and he kept his cool in the face of a lot of arrogant cynicism.

When the camera turned to the audience, you could see grimness all over the place. I'd say two of the grimmest faces were on stage; they belonged to leaders John Boehner and Eric Cantor. No surprise there.

Commentators are saying that the Republicans thoroughly regret that they allowed this interchange to be televised. I don't doubt it one bit.