- Husband: Honey, I’ve invited all the guys over to play cards next Wednesday.
- Wife: Next Wednesday? That’s the night I’m hosting book club! You can’t have them here that night.
- Husband: But I already told them to come, and Tony’s bringing pizza!
- Wife: Well, tell them some other night. Invite them for Thursday instead.
- Husband: Thursday? No, that’s the first night of the NFL season and we’ll all be at Jimmy’s to watch the Packers and Saints!
- Wife: Sorry. I’ve had Wednesday reserved for book club for over a month, and I can’t change it now, so you’ll have to pick a new night to play cards.
Sounds like a marriage with a communication problem, doesn’t it? There’s either some sort of passive-aggressive game being played or it’s a simple matter of not listening because they don’t care.
Now, substitute Barack Obama for the husband and John Boehner for the wife and you have the situation that occurred yesterday regarding the date on which the Speaker will allow the President to give his jobs speech to a joint session of Congress. You don’t still expect them to play nicely and come up with bipartisan solutions to the nation’s problems, do you?
There’s nothing wrong with two parties making separate plans that fit their own agendas — book clubs and card games — but our political husband and wife don’t seem to spend any quality time together doing anything that will benefit the whole family.
No wonder the kids are so screwed up.