“You’re not being Bipartisan.” “No, You’re not being Bipartisan.”

The Obama administration and the gang of six’s Republican Senators Charles Grassley and Mike Enzi continue to trade barbs about who is “not being bipartisan.”

The latest response comes from Senator Grassley responding to David Axlerod who had responded to statements Senators Grassley and Enzi had made over the summer recess.

Mr. Axlerod had the temerity on Monday to accuse the Senators of “negotiating in bad faith,” offering that the Senators actions suggested “that they don’t want to participate” in bipartisan talks. Mr. Axlerod further stated:

“If you’re sitting at a table negotiating in good faith, then you probably don’t send out mailers saying, ‘Help me stop Obama-care.’ That’s just common sense.”

According to A.P.,

Enzi, in a radio address Saturday, said Democratic proposals would restrict medical choices and make the country’s “finances sicker without saving you money.”

In an August fundraising letter, Grassley asked for “support in helping me defeat Obama-care.” He said Democratic-drafted bills would be “a pathway to a government takeover of the health care system.”

Far be it from me to define “bipartisan cooperation,” but I must admit “Help me defeat Obama-care” doesn’t really seem to capture the essence of that spirit.

Jill Kozeny, a spokeswoman for Senator Grassley defended the statement saying, according to A.P., that “Grassley was simply restating his well-known opposition to a government-run health insurance plan.”

In addition, Ms. Kozeny in turn responded to Mr. Axlerod’s  accusation as follows:

“Attacks by political operatives in the White House undermine bipartisan efforts and drive senators away from the table,” but added that “the so-called “Group of Six” senators would continue to work for a compromise despite his comments.”

Having been in a schoolyard tussle or two in my time, I can’t help but feel the similarity as each side accuses the other of failing to be “bipartisan.” As a kid growing up in the late sixties and seventies in working class New Jersey, schoolboys everywhere labored under the same admonition from our fathers: “Don’t you start a fight–but if anyone hits you first–or says something about your Mother–you can hit him.” Except for the truly spontaneous outbreaks, most fights (or putative fights) began with ten or twenty minutes of some form of verbal interchange designed to try to get the other guy to throw the first punch, followed by shoving, and then–if no one broke it up–a fight.

And I’m not entirely sure which category “You’re not bipartisan.” “No, you’re not bipartisan” fits (though I suppose there’s no question as to where all that talk about “pulling the plug on grandma” belongs) –but as I’ve said, the similarity to schoolboys trying to engage in a tussle without blame is keen–far too keen. It would be funny–if it weren’t for all those sick people and the fact that we somehow manage to spend considerably more for health care and get considerably less than most everyone in the world.

Obama is said to be scheduled to address Congress about Health Care Reform on prime-time television come the Wednesday after Labor Day. Maybe he can break it up. If not, it might be time to start shoving– or at least twisting some arms– LBJ style.