Hand-to-hand combat, threatening or promising?

President Obama is warning that a Republican majority in Congress would mean “hand-to-hand combat” on Capitol Hill for the next two years, threatening policies Democrats have enacted to stabilize the economy. Hand-to-hand combat on Capitol Hill doesn’t sound appealing on its face, and I doubt that Obama will make inroads with many undecided voters by invoking the prospect of it. More likely, they will be disappointed that our “post-partisan” president is not prepared to work with Republicans.
In any event, if the alternative to “hand-to-hand” combat is a Congress that cannot resist Obama’s initiatives or revisit his unpopular policies, I think most voters will say, “bring it on.” Indeed,the desire to place a check on our “radical-in-chief” president surely is a big part of what’s driving the vote in favor of Republicans.