He knows they’ll give it up no matter how little respect he shows them, I suppose.

Still, this is yet another instance where it strikes me we’re told again and again how this is a top-tip-toppiest of priorities for the president and he would rather die than watch it fail because he is so very, very sure it will make the world a safe and wonderful place. And yet. And yet. Someone for whom convincing people of this deal’s essential worth is a top priority might…bother trying to convince them.

But not President Obama. As per usual, the plan seems to be to give up whatever parts of a deal might have made it truly helpful or productive in order to achieve the political symbolism of a deal, and then crow about the deal’s awesomeness, counting on the press to shame everyone who might bother to ask exactly what it is you’re trying to accomplish with said deal. Throughout the conduct of this plan, the president will impugn the motives of all critics, crap on the exact people he needs to convince to bolster the now-shoddy deal his desperation for political symbolism has gotten him, and never bother to answer any substantive questions about the shoddiness of the deal. You may notice this pattern from such legislation as Obamacare.

Good stuff:

Anticipating a month of heavy lobbying and television advertising by opponents, led by the pro-Israel group Aipac, the president and top members of his team are leaning on Democrats to publicly declare their backing for the agreement before they leave Washington to face their constituents.

Mr. Obama, who will decamp to Martha’s Vineyard this weekend for his own two-week summer vacation, will have limited personal contact with wavering lawmakers, but his team is under strict instructions to make the president and other senior administration officials available to any skeptic with an unanswered question or concern about the deal. “Anyone who wants a phone call will get one,” one official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to outline internal strategy.

Officials said that Mr. Obama’s address on Wednesday would be followed by a series of news media interviews that will be shown next week. And the administration plans to dispatch cabinet members, including Energy Secretary Ernest J. Moniz, the nuclear physicist who helped negotiate the accord, to travel the country outlining its provisions. Mr. Moniz will appear on Friday at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, administration officials said.

President Obama will do almost anything to pass his Iran deal except talk face-to-face w members of Congress. http://t.co/kH8ZCWkgNw

— David Frum (@davidfrum) August 5, 2015

“Anyone who wants a phone call will get one.” Oh, do tell!

The headline on this NYT piece is “Obama begins campaign in Congress for Iran nuke deal.” No, he doesn’t. He’s ending it to go to Martha’s Vineyard, as the piece makes clear.

Now, I could be wrong. The president could lay out a very compelling case for the Iran nuclear deal this week, treat his critics fairly and attempt to answer their questions about the deal, then stick around and show a tenth of the enthusiasm for chatting with the members of his own party as he has with the mullahs. It is, after all, a top priority for him. Just ask HealthCare.gov or Jason Rezaian how being a top priority worked out for them.

In fairness, why should President Obama wreck his vacation to sustain charade that Congress has a real voice on Iran deal?

— David Frum (@davidfrum) August 5, 2015