Obama's idea of a 'Bully Pulpit'

Last week, President Obama spilled the beans on the "Today Show" that he had met with CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf -- just as the number crunchers were casting ruinous doubt on White House cost-saving claims. Yes, question the timing. The CBO is supposed to be a neutral scorekeeper -- not a water boy for the White House.

But when the meeting failed to stop the CBO from issuing more analysis undercutting the health-care savings claims, Obama's budget director Peter Orszag played the heavy. In a public letter, he warned the CBO that it risked feeding the perception that it was "exaggerating costs and underestimating savings."

Message: Leave the number-fudging to the boss. Capiche?

Obama issued an even more explicit order to unleash the hounds on Blue Dog Democrats during his health-care press conference. "Keep up the heat" translated into Organizing for America/Democratic National Committee attack ads on moderate Democrats who have revolted against ObamaCare's high costs and expansive government powers over medical decisions.

Looks like there won't be a health-care beer summit anytime soon.

The CBO and the Blue Dogs got off easy compared to inspectors general targeted by Team Obama goons. Former AmeriCorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin was slimed as mentally incompetent ("confused" and "disoriented") after blowing the whistle on several cases of community-service tax fraud, including the case of Obama crony Kevin Johnson.

In the mafia culture, bully boys depend on a code of silence and allegiance -- omerta -- not only among their brethren, but also from the victims. The victims of Obama thugocracy are no longer cooperating. Perhaps it won't be long until some of the enforcers start to sing, too.