Washington Post columnist, Dana Milbank, may have revealed more than he realized with his recent column on the Obama speech. Aptly entitled,  "The irrelevancy of the Obama presidency," Milbank describes the general air of unconcern and overt Republican disrespect in the House chamber leading up to and throughout the One's much-ballyhooed but barely warmed over proposal.  Liberal Milbank, who recently has become lukewarm as an Obama cheerleader, even cites several examples of Democrat misbehavior to reinforce his assertion of the president's declining influence.  However, the most damning proof of his premise comes with this paragraph:

Presidential addresses to Congress are often dramatic moments. This one felt like a sideshow.  Usually, the press gallery is standing-room-only; this time, only 26 of 90 seats were claimed by the deadline. Usually, some members arrive in the chamber hours early to score a center-aisle seat; 90 minutes before Thursday's speech, only one Democrat was so situated. Emphasis added.

Here we have a national crisis supposedly so compelling as to require an unusual presidential address to a joint session of Congress, and not even 30% of the usually standing-room-only press gallery seats are filled?   That is stark evidence indeed of irrelevance, akin to the cheerleaders and the marching band not showing up at a title game.  Which, in fact may be where a lot of them were, getting themselves comfortably ensconced to kick back with a brew and enjoy the season-opening NFL contest between two genuine titleholders who are anything but irrelevant. Actually, it was the far better show.

But think about that. When his most die-hard supporters, those who played the key role in making him the starter, would rather stay home and catch another game on TV than show up in the stands and along the sidelines to watch him throw his hyped but hopeless Hail Mary pass, maybe the QB shouldn't have insisted on the game. Especially since it would appear that the Obummer speech lost two-thirds of the media band, probably the brass and the drumline, though he still seems to have his usual flute tooters in the woodwind section like this, this and this.

Oh, and this little cutie of a cheerleader.

And just think, LBJ threw in the towel when he'd lost only the drum major.