Most people who were following the federal government’s power play in Nevada against Cliven Bundy were surprised and elated that the government suddenly backed off from their assault.

They’ll be back but most likely not until after the 2014 election. In fact, they may wait until after 2016. Government employees with guns don’t like to look bad.

Here’s what I think happened.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) most likely got a call from someone in the White House (WH) at the directive of President Obama that went something like this:

WH: Who’s the idiot in charge? Put him on the phone.

BLM: Yes sir.

WH: Who put you in charge?

BLM: Technically, you guys did.

WH: So you are working for us. Right?

BLMt: Yes sir.

WH: Then why would you create a confrontation with a rancher that is revving up the conservative base that’s looking for anything they can to use against us? Just because you have the authority to do something doesn’t mean you should do something. Don’t you know this is an election year? So far, the political news is bad for us and our fellow-Democrats.

BLM: Well, sir, I’m not a politician. I’m only doing my job, and my job says this guy is breaking federal law.

WH: Your job is to keep liberals, I mean progressives, in power.

BLM: I didn’t know that, sir. I thought I worked for the American people.

WH: Technically, you are correct. But in reality, you work for the interests of this president, and those interests are to keep this party in power for as long as possible so we can make things almost impossible for the Republicans ever to regain power in Washington.

Idiot: I didn’t know that.

WH: We don’t need the media to pick up on this story. So far the major media outlets have ignored the story. The story is mostly bouncing around conservative websites and being discussed on talk radio. We have got to keep this story from getting so big that our media people are forced to report on it.

BLM: “Our media people?” I didn’t know we had media people. I thought the press was supposed to be neutral and only report the facts.

WH: You’ve been in the sun too long, friend. We could never win an election if the media were all about facts and fair reporting. The media report on stories that we want them to report on, but sometimes a story gets so big that they have to report on it. Look how long we’ve kept the IRS scandal out of the public eye. We’ve even been able to keep Benghazi buttoned up. You don’t want people to start asking questions like, “Why so much fire power to go after a rancher and his cattle but nothing to protect our embassy in Benghazi?” Or, “Why is one rancher supposedly trespassing on federal land such a big deal but millions of illegal immigrants crossing our border and receiving billions of dollars in tax money a human rights issue?” Or, “Why didn’t the government move against Occupy Wall Street in a similar fashion?” Do you see the problem?

BLMt: I’m beginning to see how this works, yes sir.

WH: Anyway, Harry Reid’s been complaining that this rancher is spoiling some big Chinese deal. It’s worth stopping this thing just so we don’t have to listen to his whiny little voice.

BLM: On that, you and I agree. “Troops, let’s go home. The WH says we’ll fight another day.”