Keith Hennessey, a former George W. Bush administration economic policy official, has a typically astute analysis of the politics of the sequester. He writes:
without a deal to replace the sequester, the President now has a new target for blame-shifting in his macroeconomic message.
Old message: All economic bad news is George W. Bush's fault, all good news is because my policies are working.New message: All economic bad news is Congressional Republicans' fault, while all good news is because my policies are working.
Of course, President Obama signed the sequester into law, and, as Bob Woodward reported, it was his White House staff's idea to begin with, so blaming it entirely on Congressional Republicans is somewhat inaccurate. But the president doesn't appear to view that as an obstacle.