For over a year we’ve been hearing about how Republicans are imploding and fighting with each other. The pro-lifers are fighting the pro-choicers. The social libertarians are fighting the Christians. Palin vs. McCain was always a more interesting fight than McCain/Obama ever was. Never mind the whole torture debate.

In short, it’s been accepted wisdom by the media that the Republican Party is a well dressed cage match. And every blow and tackle was nationally televised and analyzed by the media with glee.

The GOP had been home to Lindsey Graham, Olympia Snowe and Arlen Specter. And it’s educational to notice that Joe Lieberman was kicked out of his party for daring to support the Democrat’s stance on the war while Specter, who hardly agreed with anything on the GOP platform, left the party weeping and wailing like a stood-up prom date.

When President Bush attempted to push immigration reform the Democrats supported him. It was the Republican rank and file that fought the President who was the leader of their party. And the rank and file won.

Remember Bush’s nomination of Harriet Miers. The Democrats didn’t get rid of her. The pro-life Republicans did.

Obama rode into the White House unscathed mainly because the GOP was in their circular firing squad formation. So now Obama says:

“You know, the other side, they just kinda sometimes do what they’re told. Democrats, y’all thinkin’ for yourselves.”

For Mr. bipartisan to say that is the height of hypocrisy because essentially he’s banking his Presidency on his ability to roll over moderate Democrats and bully them into doing his will on Obamacare. Essentially what Obama was saying to Democrats is “Stop thinking. Just do what I say.”

In fact, Jay Nordlinger points out:

In 2008, according to Congressional Quarterly, House Democrats voted on average with the majority of their caucus 92 percent of the time. The score for House Republicans was five points lower. Senate Democrats voted as a unified caucus 87 percent of the time, four points higher than the GOP score.”

But that doesn’t stop the media from running that quote. In fact, the quote itself was the basis for many stories including one on ABC. And there was no room for Republicans to disagree with his assertion in the story either.

So, what Obama said is I’m sure well on its way to becoming conventional wisdom for the media though I’m unsure how they’ll be able to simultaneously cover the collapsing of the GOP through infighting while mocking their lockstep approach to governance. It’ll be interesting.