Thomas Frank: Bipartisanship Is a Silly Beltway Obsession

It's good policy that matters.

Last week, President Barack Obama spoke at town-hall meetings in cities hit hard by the recession. With only one exception -- a woman who thought Mr. Obama needed to have a beer with Sean Hannity -- the questions the president received in these places were all concerned with bread-and-butter economic issues: mortgage problems, funding for education, and the difficulties of low-wage work.

Over the weekend, after Congress had approved a massive economic stimulus package, it was the news media's turn to ask the questions. Here, a different concern permeated the discussion: The nation's desperate need for bipartisanship, and the president's failure to usher in a new era of brotherly love between Republicans and Democrats.