You remember the one the Beltway press used so often and effectively last year. The bogus premise worked like this: When he was running for president, Obama promised to change the tone in Washington, D.C.; he practically guaranteed he'd end partisan bickering. But he hasn't done that because Republicans are voting against his bills. Therefore Obama is to blame for lack of bipartisan cooperation.

Nifty, right? In addressing the topic of bipartisanship (i.e. the shared cooperation of two political parties), the press blamed Obama (and Obama alone) for the fact that obstructionist Republicans refused to be bipartisan.

Well, today the Times' Sheryl Gay Stolberg brings that chestnut out of storage:

Part of the problem for Mr. Obama is that he came to Washington vowing to change the partisan tone in the capital, something he has thus far been unable to do. Just three Senate Republicans voted for the financial regulatory bill on Thursday, continuing a pattern that began early in Mr. Obama's presidency when just three Republicans joined him on the stimulus bill.