"The White House was basically playing rope-a-dope for a while, I think.
But we've learned not to be duped by Djokovic, he's got a knack of playing rope-a-dope with his opponents.
"Chávez has been playing rope-a-dope with the recall ever since it began," said Mr. Aronson, who is now managing partner of Acon Investments.
So, this leads to the eternal question of whether Obama is just weak or if he is a brilliant strategist who has been playing rope-a-dope all along.
On budget matters, he seems to be playing rope-a-dope — waiting for the Republicans to propose something courageous and foolhardy like entitlement reform, thus giving him an opening to step in as the bulwark against extremism.
"We are at a transformational moment in terms of our potential as a country, and we have two candidates playing rope-a-dope," said David Rothkopf, author of "Power, Inc".
He is lonely and unhappy, claiming to his exasperated sister (Rosemarie DeWitt) that he is just playing rope-a-dope with life and fate, waiting for them to wear themselves out beating him, after which he will come storming back.
In the House, the Democratic minority's success at playing rope-a-dope with the rules prompted the Republican majority — like the Senate, in accordance with the rules — to adopt a shut-up-and-vote strategy, passing tort reform and immigrant regulation bills after cutting off debate and amendments.
That night, they played a game of chicken: McConnell, unsmiling, his eyes riveted ahead, held out the prospect of dozens more amendments; Reid, a former boxer, was hunched and mumbling, playing rope-a-dope, vowing to fend off amendments all night.
The mixed signals have Obama's base clinging to the hope that their leader is playing rope-a-dope with opponents, while other progressives are already declaring Obama a conservative.
