Obama ≠ Louis XIV

The always impartial Gwen Ifiill /sarc attempted to execute Obama's marching orders of divide & conquer the GOP over the perceived rift in the Republican Party. PBS invited fiscal conservatives, presumably because they were expected to echo Steele's rebuke of Limbaugh. Vin Weber was politely diplomatic but Grover Norquist came out with both barrels blazing (Go Grover!!!) :

GROVER NORQUIST: Only President Obama equates himself with the nation. When people say, "I hope that Obama is stopped in his effort to raise taxes and spending," that's opposition to Obama's policies.

We want the country to succeed, which is why we oppose the bad things, the damaging taxes and spending and regulations and trial lawyer stuff that Obama and the Democrats are putting forward.

He is not Louis XIV, "L'etat c'est moi." It's the nerve of Obama to say that criticism of him is disrespectful to the country. He isn't the country. He is not Fearless Leader. He's the head of the executive branch of government.

Just reminding people, when Republicans were in charge of the White House, Democrats constantly spewed the phrase (Stalinistically misattributed to Thomas Jefferson): "dissent is the highest form of patriotism". Apparently, there is some footnote to the Constitution, perhaps hidden under some penumbra , that only equates treason with anyone disagreeing with Democrats ever.