“Barack Obama, minting a new generation of future cynics.” That was how one friend of mine – a former Hill aide turned Democratic lobbyist – predicted the Obama presidency would unravel. Now, just six months in, my friend’s sardonicism seems well-judged. This isn’t simply a matter of the fatal combination of the dog days of summer and a tortuous battle over healthcare reform (though that’s part of it). Rather, it’s the case that even a popular President, armed with a genuine mandate and an enormous quantity of goodwill seems unable to find a way through Washington’s legislative thickets.
Obama arrived in the Oval Office with a sweeping liberal agenda not seen since the days of Lyndon Johnson; alas, so far, he doesn’t have LBJ’s clout at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. There are two schools you can blame (leftwing Democrats in the House or moderate Democrats in the Senate), but ultimately responsibility comes back to the President, even if in other, more innocent, times a President would be praised for letting Congress thrash out legislation…
It’s more difficult than it was in LBJ’s day, mind you.
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