Obama's Sequester Strategy Raises Concerns About Arrogance

He's not actually talking to anybody and playing overtly political games

President Barack Obama's greatest adversary in the latest budget battle isn't the Republican leadership in Congress — it's his confidence in his own ability to force a win.

He has been so certain of his campaign skills that he didn't open a line of communication with House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell until Thursday, a week before the spending ax hits. And when they did finally hear from Obama, the calls were perfunctory, with no request to step up negotiations or invitations to the White House.

That's because Obama's all-in on an outside strategy, doing just about everything other than holding serious talks with Republicans. In the last two days alone, he's courted local TV anchors, called in a select group of White House correspondents to talk off the record, chatted up black broadcasters and announced plans to stump next week at Virginia's Newport News Shipyard. Throughout, he's talked in tough terms that signal little interest in compromise — or suggestion of backing down.