The tough GOP brand is under the bed

NOTE TO Reps. John Boehner and his sidekick Eric Cantor: You can come out from under the bed now. President Obama swears he won't hit you. Honest. He's simply asked you to do what you've said you've wanted to do for a year: Have a sitdown with him on the health care reform bill. He doesn't care whether you come with your cues scribbled on your palms. He just wants to hear you out on one of the most urgent issues facing Americans today, health care. Even mob rivals have sitdowns to resolve their differences. Instead of agreeing, you've sent him a number of questions to be answered before you accept the invitation. I especially liked the ones in which you wanted know what color necktie he would be wearing and whether you would have to sit through some film clips of Sarah Palin. You boys are supposed to represent the muscular Republican brand in the House of Representatives and here you are, cowering under the bed and hoping that he will go away. I mean, he wants both sides to put their cards on the table in a publicly televised session. This would be your chance to tell the public exactly what you are proposing instead of being the nasty party of NO. You may also want to explain why some of your House members are now proposing to dump Medicare and privatize Social Security. We've been buried in one snowstorm after another and could all use some laughs. You must be terribly worried that Obama, as he has demonstrated before, is more mentally agile than you are. Here's your chance to prove him wrong before the maid comes to change the sheets on your bed. Carpe diem!