Aw, shoot

Never mind the arguments for and against gun control: I do not favor the idea of Barack Obama wasting hard-won political capital on this issue. If you can't win a fight, don't fight. Polls indicate that most Americans still oppose any restrictions on the right to own firearms. From the WP:

A working group led by Vice President Biden is seriously considering measures backed by key law enforcement leaders that would require universal background checks for firearm buyers, track the movement and sale of weapons through a national database, strengthen mental health checks, and stiffen penalties for carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors, the sources said.

A lot of that makes sense to me. But sensible policy is not necessarily popular policy. Let's face it -- Biden and Obama are injecting "go juice" directly into the veins of the Tea Party. Do they really want to revive the monster just before the fight over the debt ceiling?