The real problem is the dickishness of our mainstream political analysis, especially from the "savviest" practitioners. Back during my days as media critic, I argued in Breaking the News and a related Atlantic cover story that the laziest and ultimately most destructive form of political coverage came when journalists seemed to imagine that they were theater critics or figure-skating judges. The what of public affairs didn't interest them. All they cared about was the how.
In this case, the "what" of Obama's press conference -- the unbelievable recklessness of mainly House Republicans in inviting the largest self-inflicted economic wound in American history -- deserves every bit of frustration Obama showed, and lots more.
This is the "dog and pony show" put into the mainstream of media for big bucks that goes back to Broder, but set on high-beam by Cable news. Assholes like Halperin get paid big big bucks to look serious and discuss absolutely nothing. And the effect is nothing less than negligent homicide of the body politic.
Meanwhile we've had a mantra for forty years about "not negotiating with terrorists" while the current GOP is engaging in the most damaging form of terrorism against most every American without a nine-figure investment portfolio.
And thanks to the modern media, it's all about whether a black man trying to avoid it is allowed to look even mildly perturbed. The pieces are all set, the Republicans are allowed to be complete assholes and screw everybody and the fault will be Obama's for daring to ask for one fucking thing and then failing to be appropriately obsequious about it.