What happened to running government like a business?  That’s been a common pledge of politicians, especially those who run for office after years in the private sector.  The promise implies that the elected official will make decisions based on the facts, numbers, and data.  That she won’t be overly sensitive to political implications. That he will work to get things done, and not just score political points.  That she will accept a partial accomplishment now, in the hopes of getting more later.

Well, despite being a catchy campaign sound bite, it appears no one really wants elected officials to address issues like a businessperson.  How else to explain the howls of protest and betrayal emanating from both the Right and the Left over the tax cut deal President Obama negotiated with the Republican leadership in Congress?  Both sides have ignored what they got—extended unemployment benefits for the Democrats, extended tax breaks for the Republicans—in favor of screaming about what the other side got.

We seem to live in an era when political victory means not just getting what you want, but making sure your opposition gets nothing.  Haven’t these people read Steve Covey’s “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People?”  I’ll save some politicians from having to actually read a book by just pointing out Habit Number Four: think win-win.  There really is enough to go around for everyone, if we realize that success depends on cooperative effort.  

It seems to me that in this case, Obama and the Republicans really did behave like business people trying to get a deal done.  Both sides had goals they wanted to achieve and negotiated a way to make that happen.  Neither side got everything it wanted.  Last time I checked, that’s called a compromise, and it’s been the basis of governing in this country for, oh, about 234 years.  Sadly, compromise is so unusual in Washington that most people don’t even recognize it when they see it.